Winter Smoak
by Ellabee15
Summary: Felicity never expected Captain America to ask for her help. She could also not have anticipated what searching for the Winter Soldier would result in. AU begins after the episode: "Draw Back your Bow"
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

All I ask is a man who doesn't secretly dress up in a stupid costume to fight crime." Felicity glared at her wine glass. "Or kiss me and then run away making excuses." She was sitting in her apartment after her work 'date' with Ray. "I mean do I have a glowing neon sign on my head that says 'friendzone me?" She looked over at the dress Ray had bought her. "Technically Barry and I friendzoned each other, but that was never going to work out. " She sighed. "So here I am, alone, talking to a dress."

There was a knock at the door.

"Oliver, whatever it is can wait until tomorrow." She grumbled as she opened the door.

"Ms. Smoak?" the man in front of her said. "I'm sorry for disturbing you so late, but I saw your lights on and I need your help with something important. My name is Steve Rogers."

Felicity looked at him in shock.

"Is this a bad time?" he asked "I can come back tomorrow."

"You're not Oliver." She said

He looked at her amused. "No I'm not."

"I'm sorry, I must be more drunk than I realized because I could swear that Captain America is standing in front of my door asking me for help." Felicity put her hand to her forehead. "And that is just not possible."

Steve smiled "I got your name from Tony Stark. He says you're one of the best at computer hacking and that you made him cry when you turned down his offer and went to work at Queen Consolidated." He held out a file folder. "I need to find someone, can I come in?"

Felicity nodded, star struck.

"His name is James Buchanan Barnes." Steve explained. "He's been kidnapped by Hydra and brainwashed into being a killing machine."

Felicity looked at the picture. "Bucky Barnes, I remember him from history class. I had such a crush on him…not that I didn't think you were cute or exceedingly attractive, because I did, but I'm a sucker for the brooding type…which probably explains my current relationship problems. I'm sorry you came for my help not to be my therapist."

Steve smiled shyly.

"I promise I'm more professional when I haven't gone through ¾ of a bottle of red wine." She flipped through the file.

"I need to see if you can find him." Steve explained

Felicity raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Why come to me?"

"Because Natasha said you worked with the Canary."

Felicity looked away in pain. "You knew Sara?" she said hoarsely.

"Natasha, Black Widow, did. She worked undercover for S.H.I.E.L.D. to infiltrate the league. Canary was one of her contacts. When Canary was released, Nat got in touch with her again. She spoke highly of you and your skills."

"Sara was a special person." Felicity murmured.

Steve shifted uncomfortably. He got up and handed her a card. "Here's my information if you find anything."

"Yes Captain, sir, Captain."

"Good night miss Smoak." He paused on the way out. "That's a lovely dress." Then he left, closing the door behind him.

The next morning she woke up with a terrible headache. Her phone was ringing loudly.

"Roy, it's Saturday I reserve the right to sleep till the crack of noon."

Roy laughed "You okay blondie?"

"I have a hangover and I had the weirdest dream last night. Captain America was there and – "

"As fascinating as I'm sure your Avengers themed sex dreams are, Digg wanted me to remind you that you have a training session at 2:30"

Felicity groaned. "Tell him I'll be there but I won't be happy about it. Expect lots of complaining."

She hung up and looked around. On her coffee table was a file folder. Bucky Barnes' haunted face looked up at her.

"So it wasn't a dream."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

As predicted, the training session was grueling. Digg's concern for her safety had doubled after she had been kidnapped by her crazy, not dead, boyfriend.

"I think you're trying to kill me." Felicity said as she collapsed into her computer chair.

"You'll thank me when someone actually tries to kill you." Digg smirked as leaned against one of the tables. "I'm just looking out for you Smoak. It's because I care."

"Can you care about me a little less?" Felicity asked.

"Nope."

Felicity turned to her computer, she was itching to start looking for Barnes, but she didn't want Digg involved. Cap had trusted her, and this seemed to be the sort of thing he wouldn't want anyone else involved in.

"How was your date?" Digg asked nonchalantly.

"Not a date." Felicity said

"That bad?" Digg smiled as Felicity glared at him. "Sorry."

Felicity was about to respond when the door the foundry opened and Laurel and Oliver walked in arguing.

"You're not getting involved and that's final."

"That's final? I'm not a child, Oliver."

"You're untrained."

"And whose fault is that?"

"Sara wouldn't have wanted you to get involved in this life."

"Don't you dare tell me what Sara would have wanted."

Digg and Felicity looked at each other.

"Um guys?" Felicity said, causing both of them to turn to the desk in surprise. "What's wrong?"

"A body turned up under the bridge with an arrow in its chest. It looks like one of Merlyn's arrows. I need you to analyze it." Oliver handed her the arrow.

"He's killing again." Laurel spat, "He killed my sister and now he's done it again."

"Laurel we've been over this." Oliver sighed.

"I'll have the results to you as quick as I can." Felicity rushed away leaving the two to glare at each other.

"Well it doesn't match Merlyn's arrows, though that was probably done intentionally because who would be stupid enough to use the same arrows, while pretending to be dead. I can tell you that the dead guy had a record. He's a drug dealer who previously sold vertigo." Felicity pointed to the information on the screen, "He was last seen lurking around Verdant, trying to sell drugs."

"He's protecting Thea." Oliver murmured "He didn't want a drug dealer near her club."

"It would be sweet if it wasn't murder." Felicity turned back to her screens. "I'm going to grab dinner, you guys want anything?"

"I could go for some Big Belly Burger if you're buying." Digg grinned. Felicity got up and left. As she closed the door, she heard the beginning of another argument between Oliver and Laurel.

She was waiting for her order at Big Belly Burger when she glanced outside. There was a man standing across the street. He looked forlorn, but he appeared to be staring right at her. When Felicity looked again he was gone. He looked like Barnes, Felicity thought, but decided that her residual hangover was causing her brain to play tricks on her.

The Winter Soldier had followed the woman to the restaurant. He'd been tailing her since Steve had visited her house. He'd wanted to walk up to Steve, but he'd held himself back. Steve wanted him to be Bucky Barnes, and he wasn't sure he could live up to that expectation. He hadn't meant for her to catch sight of him, but he wanted to get a look at her face.

She's beautiful, he thought to himself, but her eyes are sad. That made him angry, what would cause her to be sad? He knew it was risky, and that Steve had probably asked her to find him, but he was like a moth drawn to a flame. This woman glowed and he wanted to be close to her; even if she burned him.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The days that followed Captain America's visit were unnerving for Felicity. She had the suspicion that someone was following her. She was walking to Verdant after work about a week later when her suspicions were confirmed. She had taken the alley entrance in order to avoid Thea seeing her and asking questions.

"Alright pretty lady, hand over the purse."

Felicity turned to face the man who was threatening her. He had a ski mask and was holding a knife.

"You really should reconsider robbing me." Felicity warned. "It's in your best interest to turn around and walk away."

"Give me the purse." The man stepped forward, "next time I won't ask so nicely."

She was about to use Digg's training to disarm him when the mugger was pushed to the ground. He scrambled back up and swung the knife at the man who'd pushed him. The other man calmly blocked the attack with his arm. There was a clang of metal on metal as the knife hit the man's wrist. The mugger dropped the knife as he was grabbed by the throat and lifted into the air..

"Leave." The mysterious man growled. He dropped the mugger on the ground. The ma looked at him in horror and fled. Felicity stared at her rescuer in shock.

"Sergeant Barnes?" She asked softly.

He flinched, his eyes haunted and filled with pain. "Not anymore." His voice was raspy. He turned and left the alleyway.

"Wait." Felicity called, running after him, but by the time she turned the corner he had already disappeared.

"Felicity, are you okay?" Oliver had just entered the alley from the lair.

"We saw part of what happened on the screens, are you hurt?" he reached for her shoulder but she pushed him off.

"I'm fine." She said, looking around.

"Who was that guy?" Roy had just arrived. "The guy who saved you."

"A hero." Felicity said. "He just doesn't know it yet." Then she went inside the foundry, leaving a very confused Oliver and Roy standing in the alley.

Bucky watched the 3 people from his perch on the roof of the neighboring building. He'd climbed up there so Felicity wouldn't be able to find him when she followed him. Felicity, the taller of the two men had called her Felicity. He now knew her name.

"A hero." He heard her say, "He just doesn't know it yet." The words caused a pain in his chest; he knew he didn't deserve them. He left silently seeking solace in the darkness and shadows which concealed him and kept him safe.

"Let's see if I got this." Digg put a hand to his temple. "Captain America tracked you down to ask for help finding Bucky Barnes. Barnes, who everyone thought died during the war, has actually been alive this whole time and is working as a brain washed assassin for Hydra. He has also probably been stalking you for the last week and saved you from a mugging." He shook his head. "To think I left the army to enjoy a normal life."

"How's that working out for you?" Roy smirked

"This isn't funny." Digg glared "Barnes could be dangerous."

The three of them were sitting in the foundry. Oliver had gone on patrol, but everyone knew he was trying to see if he could track the man who'd saved Felicity. He didn't like sharing his turf, especially when the intruder seemed to have such an effect on Felicity. Roy and Digg had stayed to train, but in reality were getting more information out of Felicity.

"I don't think he is." Felicity said. "He had the opportunity to hurt that mugger in the alley and he didn't. He's also had multiple opportunities to hurt me. Especially if he is following me." She suddenly paled. "I just remembered that I accidently left my bathroom curtains open last night. What if he saw me showering? What if he heard me? My shower singing is personal." She groaned. "I may have mooned a national hero."

Digg looked annoyed. "Next time you think someone's following you, you tell me, or Oliver."

"Please don't tell Oliver." Felicity said

"About your shower singing?" Roy grinned as she glared at him.

"About me helping Captain America. He won't be happy about it, but I shouldn't even be telling you this." She looked at them with a determined face. Digg looked like he was going to protest, but then relented.

"Unless your life gets put in danger." He agreed. "Otherwise I promise I won't tell Oliver. But I can't promise that I won't camp outside your house tonight to make sure you're safe."

"I'll join you." Roy grinned. "I love a good music show."

Felicity rolled her eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

He'd been hiding in alleyway after fleeing a park. A little girl had seen his arm and cried. He hadn't meant to scare her. He'd been tossing a stray soccer ball back to its owner when his shirt sleeve slid, revealing the metal. Now he sat there, alone, ashamed. Hydra had turned him into the type of monster which terrified children. He was cold, it was raining and there was very little shelter. Suddenly he heard someone enter the alleyway.

"Why don't you come out slowly tin man?" A man said "It's nothing personal, but the boss lady wants you for our team."

"Shut up Lawton." Another man said. Bucky stood slowly and faced them.

"I don't want any trouble." He says softly.

"Neither do we." A woman stepped forward. "My name is Lyla, we're here to help."

Bucky looked at the gun in her hand and the weapons the men with her were holding. He shook his head. "Leave me alone," he said. "please."

"He's going to be a problem." The one called Lawton said.

"Waller wants him alive." Lyla said "Cutter you're up."

Bucky heard the twang of a bowstring and instinctively he blocked the arrow with his metal arm.

Lyla moved towards him, but Bucky was too fast. He picked her up and threw her at Lawton. He didn't want a fight, he wanted to escape. The other men with Lyla had different plans. The confrontation was brutal, but Bucky had just made it to the end of the alley when another arrow stuck him in the side.

"You're strong." A red head with a bow and quiver dropped in front of him. "I like that in a man." Then she attacked. During their fight the arrow broke, leaving the arrowhead imbedded in his waist. Bucky roared in pain, picked the woman up and threw her across the alleyway. The last thing he saw was Lyla pulling out her gun, before he fled.

Felicity sat in her apartment listening to the rain. She was on her couch running 3 separate searched on her laptop. Finding Bucky was proving difficult. She had expected as much. The Winter Soldier was a covert expert and had managed to evade S.H.I.E.L.D. for years. She sighed in frustration. Then a knock came at the door. She got up and opened it. Outside, soaked and bloody was the Winter Soldier.

"Please, help me." he said.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Oh my god." Felicity grabbed Bucky and helped him inside.

"I'll call a doctor, wait no I can't." she said looking at his metal arm. She sat him in her kitchen. "Wait here." She ran into her bathroom and grabbed her emergency medical kit.

She came back and held up a pair of scissors. "Your shirt is inside your wound. I'm going to cut it away so I have a better chance of not causing more damage." She paused, waiting for Bucky's consent. He looked warily at the scissors, then looked straight in her eyes.

"Do it." he murmured.

She began tending to his wound. "There's something inside here."

"An arrow." Bucky said, Felicity looked at him in alarm.

"An ARROW?" She said. "Why didn't you tell me?" she quickly removed it. "Oh no. this doesn't belong to… it's a heart." She examined it closely. "It's got a tracker inside." She ran to the bathroom and Bucky heard a flush.

He looked at her confused.

"If I disabled the tracker, they'd come looking for it at its last known location. Leaving it active and flushing it down the toilet makes it look like you're moving. It should confuse them enough for me to hack their system and erase your ever being here." She returned to his side. "But first I need to clean you up." She finished disinfecting the wound and stitched him up.

"You're good at this." Bucky said in surprise.

She nodded. "I've got some pain medication if you need it. And an extra shirt and pants. You can take a shower, it's over there. Are you hungry? Of course you are what am I saying. I've got leftover pizza in the fridge and there's this Chinese place that does 24 hour delivery." She started washing her hands. I should also call Captain Rogers to tell him –"

At the mention of Steve's name Bucky jumped up. He grabbed Felicity's shoulders and spun her around to face him. "NO" he said. "Steve can't know. No one can know I'm here. Please. Not…not right now." He gripped her shoulders. Felicity nodded.

"Ok." I won't call him." She said. He reluctantly released her shoulders. He backed away and went towards the shower. Felicity grabbed her computer and hacked into ARGUS, accessing the feed of Bucky's tracker. ARGUS tagging him was dangerous and Felicity shuddered to imagine what Waller would do if she got her hands on him.

"What happened to you out there?" she said when he'd came back into the living room. The clothes she'd given him was one of the set of spares Digg had her keep incase Oliver or Roy needed to make a quick change and were too far from the lair. He looked uncomfortable in short sleeves, and kept trying to hide his arm behind his back. He tilted his head, but didn't answer.

"The only person I know who uses heart shaped arrows currently works for ARGUS. How did you get mixed up with them?"

Bucky flinched at the sadness in her voice. He looked at her with a puzzled expression. She was so kind, but she also knew the people who were hunting him, and she clearly had experience stitching up wounds. He felt ashamed that he'd brought her more trouble. That he'd caused her to stitch up another wound. Looking in her eyes he could also see she was stubborn and wouldn't accept him not answering her.

"Felicity." He said after 2 minutes of silence. "The man in the alley called you Felicity."

"It's my name." She smiled softly "Felicity Smoak."

"Felicity Smoak." He says, testing it out. It suits her. "I…mine is…was…James Barnes."

She nodded. "Your friend Steve asked me to find you."

He looked at the door. "It's dangerous for you if I stay here." He said making to leave. Felicity stood up and threw herself in front of the door.

"You are NOT going back out there. It's raining which means you could infect your wound, and ARGUS is looking for you. Your friend asked me to find you because he wants you safe. Now I agreed not to tell him I found you, but I refuse to let you just go out in the cold. I have a perfectly good couch and you can stay there. In the morning we can figure out what to do about ARGUS."

Felicity took a deep breath and stared Bucky down. In the back of her mind she realized it was pretty stupid to think she could stop a Hydra trained assassin from leaving if he wanted to, but she wasn't going to let him leaving with trying to stop him. He looked down at her in surprise, then anger, and finally, fear.

"It's dangerous for you if I stay here." He repeated, but this time it wasn't a statement, but a plea and Felicity knew she'd won.

"I don't have a problem with danger." She said, making the sorrow in Bucky's grow.

"You should." He croaked. He backed away and looked at the couch. For the first time since he's arrived he dropped his guard and Felicity could see how tired he was.

"There's the pizza in the fridge." She said as she got out her spare blanket. She handed it to him. "I'll be right in the other room if you need me." As he reached out for the blanket, he accidently brushed his metal fingers against Felicity's hand. He pulled back sharply. She gripped his fingers, unafraid of the metal. He looked at her in confusion. She smiled. "Good night Sergeant Barnes."

She let go of his hand and walked to her room.

"Good night Felicity." He said softly, but her smile showed him that she had heard.

In the morning he is gone.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Work passed slowly. Felicity couldn't concentrate; she wanted the day to be over so she could try to find Bucky again. She was so distracted she didn't even notice anyone enter her office until the person cleared their throat.

"Lyla! What a surprise. Um what are you doing here?"

Lyla smiled and sat down on one of the couches in Felicity's office. "Your assistant wasn't at his desk, I hope it's okay that I just walked in like this."

Felicity smiled, hoping to mask her nervousness. "Is something wrong? Are John and Sara alright?"

"Why do you assume someone's in trouble?" Lyla smiled, but her expression didn't meet her eyes. Felicity could tell this wasn't a simple social visit.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but we don't usually hang out without John present or some psycho trying to blow up the city." Felicity tilted her head.

Lyla smiled "You're a smart girl."

"So they tell me." Felicity leaned back in her chair, waiting for Lyla to make the next move.

"I'm here about your recent houseguest." Lyla said

Felicity stiffened, "What houseguest?"

"The man from whose side you removed an arrow head last night." Lyla smiled sadly as Felicity paled. "Please don't deny it. ARGUS has had your apartment under video surveillance since the Deathstroke incident. You have been quite popular lately. Captain America himself, what an honor."

Felicity stared at Lyla with a stony expression. Lyla sighed.

"Waller wants the Winter Soldier."

"I don't know where he is." Felicity crossed her arms. "And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you."

"He's dangerous." Lyla stood and walked to stand in front of Felicity's desk. "ARGUS can keep him away from those he'd endanger."

"By putting a bomb in his spine?" Felicity stood and glared at Lyla. "He's been used as a weapon for the last 60 years and you think the solution is switching puppet masters? He deserves the right to make his own decisions; he's a person."

"He's a highly skilled assassin who's killed hundreds of people over the last century for a Nazi terrorist organization." Lyla looked annoyed. "You have no idea the amount of danger you're in for associating with him. What does Oliver think about this?"

"Oliver doesn't make my decisions for me." Felicity said angrily. Understanding dawned on Lyla's face. "You haven't told him." She said simply. "Even you realize how much danger you're in if you decided not to trust him with this."

"I'm really busy." Felicity sat down and picked up some papers. "If there's nothing else, I have to get back to being vice president of Palmer tech." She looked pointedly at the door.

Lyla sighed. "I'm just trying to look out for you Felicity. You really have no idea the mess you're getting yourself into. I just hope you come to your senses quickly. The world isn't as black and white as you seem to think it is and ARGUS isn't your enemy." She turned and left.

As soon as she was sure that Lyla was gone Felicity grabbed her phone.

"Captain Rogers, this is Felicity Smoak. You told me to keep you updated and there's some information I think you need to know."

"Yes" His voice sounded so hopeful that Felicity almost wanted to tell him that she'd met Bucky, but she made a promise and she refused to break Bucky's trust. He'd had enough people lying to him. She swallowed nervously. "There's a government agency that's trying to find him as well. They're called ARGUS."

She heard Cap exhale angrily. "I've heard them. Fury was often at odds with their methods and their leader…Waller I think her name is. She was a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, but even then she didn't work well with others. She was dismissed." He paused. "How did you find out about their interest in Bucky?"

"I sort of know the former husband of one their agents. She paid me a visit earlier because apparently they saw you come to my apartment and figured I had information." Felicity took a deep breath. "They want him for the suicide squad."

"The what?"

"Its official name is Task Force X. It takes hardened criminals and turns them into a special opps team. Waller sees your friend as a potential asset." Felicity decided against telling Cap about the bomb implants.

"He's in Starling isn't he?" Cap said.

"Waller seems to believe so."

"Well if you find any concrete proof, contact me and I'll get there. Thank you Ms. Smoak, I'm grateful for your help." Cap said

"Glad to be helping, Captain Rogers."

The foundry

Oliver walked down the lair steps only to find Amanda Waller standing in front of Felicity's computers.

"What do you want?" he asked

"I heard what happened to Ms. Lance. My condolences."

Oliver walked forward. "I think we both know that that's not why you're really here. So just get to the point so we don't have to spend any more time on forced civility." He growled

"Interesting way to die." Waller continued, ignoring Oliver's statement. "If I read Ms. Smoak's digital autopsy correctly, the arrow trajectory doesn't match that of an archer, but of someone throwing the arrows with great force."

"What's your point?" Oliver frowned.

"Only someone with enhanced strength could have thrown those arrows. And it just so happens that there is someone with super strength in Starling." Waller said. "He's known as the Winter Soldier."

"If you know so much, then why come to me." Oliver frowned. "This isn't about getting justice for Sara's killer, you want something….unless you're having trouble apprehending him."

"I want him for Task Force X."

"I'm not your agent or your delivery boy Waller."

Waller gave Oliver a pitying look. "Just be on your guard. He's already influencing those close to you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Ms. Smoak."

Oliver tensed. "What does Felicity have to do with this?"

"She's protecting him." Waller pulled a flash drive from the inside of her suit pocket and held it in front of Oliver.

"No, she'd have told me." Oliver's confident tone didn't match his thoughts. Felicity had seemed distant lately. He'd thought it was because of Palmer.

"Have a look for yourself." Waller smiled as Oliver took the flash drive. "This is everything we have on the soldier."

Oliver sat at the desk and put the flash drive in one of the computers. Files came up on the screen. He opened one and began reading.

"Hydra?" he looked at Waller in disbelief. "You honestly expect me to believe that Felicity would help someone who was a hired killer for Hydra?" His look faltered once he saw a picture of the soldier. The picture was grainy and the soldier's face was obscured by googles and a mask which covered his lower jaw, but Oliver recognized that stance. It was the man who'd saved Felicity in the alley.

"The file which should interest you is this one." Waller pointed. Oliver opened it. It contained a video file. He opened it to see Felicity's town house. Suddenly a man stumbled and knocked on the door. Oliver tightened his grip on the armrest as he watched Felicity open the door and help the man inside her house. She looked so concerned, so worried about this man. He closed the video.

"He stays there about 5 hours before leaving, wearing different clothes, at around 2 am."

"You knew there was an assassin in Felicity's apartment and you did nothing?" Oliver said angrily.

"We didn't know until we checked the camera feeds. By that time he was long gone. He had a tracker in him, but he managed to get rid of it and _someone_ hacked its feed and erase his having been there at all." Waller said. Oliver looked at her stubbornly, she sighed.

"I suggest you take a moment to consider your position here, Mr. Queen. This man may have killed Sara Lance and he's definitely killed hundreds of others."

"I need to talk to Felicity."

"Mr. Queen."

"I'm not making any decisions before I have her side of the story." He said forcefully. "I can't believe that she'd help this man without a reason."

Waller huffed. "Ms. Smoak seems to naively believe she can save the world. Even if those she believe she can rescue have no right to be saved." She walked up the stairs. "Don't take too long to reach a decision." Then she left.

Laurel closed the alley door. She was sure both Oliver and the stern-faced woman hadn't noticed that she had overheard their conversation. She clenched her fists. This Winter Soldier had probably killed Sara and Felicity was protecting him. She turned and went back to her car to drive to Palmer Technologies.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Felicity left work and drove straight to Digg's apartment.

"Hey Felicity," he said when he answered the door. He scrutinized her expression. "What's wrong?"

"Is Lyla home?"

"No what's wrong?" he ushered her inside.

"ARGUS has been spying on me." Felicity said as she entered.

"What?"

"They've been spying on me and last night Sergeant Barnes came to my apartment. He'd been shot with a heart shaped arrow; one of Cutter's. The suicide squad attacked him because Waller wants him to join them."

Digg frowned. "It makes sense."

"What do you mean it makes sense?" Felicity shouted.

"I mean that ARGUS and SHIELD operated in very different spheres. ARGUS was created during the Gulf War in the 90's to counteract terrorist threats. SHIELD was created after WWII to protect humanity from unexplainable threats; like aliens dropping on New York from a hole in the sky. Ever since SHIELD was destroyed, ARGUS has been slowly encroaching on its territory. What happened with Slade should have been SHIELD's jurisdiction, but with the power vacuum left by the Hydra fiasco, Waller stepped in." Digg explained

"She wants to have ARGUS replace SHIELD." Felicity said sitting down.

"And she's trying to recruit people with special abilities to join the Suicide Squad in order to do it." Digg looked shaken.

"The Winter Soldier is a great candidate. If she captures him she'll have every justification to officially have ARGUS become SHIELD." Felicity said bitterly. "James is nothing but a pawn to her."

Digg raised his eyebrow. "What exactly happened between the two of you when he should up at your place last night?"

"Seriously John?" Felicity looked at him in exasperation. "I sewed him up and gave him food, new clothes and a place to sleep." She flushed as Digg gave her a knowing smile.

"ON MY COUCH."

"I just think it's interesting that he's James now and not Sergeant Barnes or the Winter Soldier." Digg said innocently. Then his expression sobered. "You're one of the most level headed people I know, Felicity, but you also tend to lead with your heart. Please just…be careful. He is a dangerous assassin."

Felicity frowned. "You haven't read his file Digg. He was torn apart then recreated in Hydra's image. He's haunted, broken. I think he's remembering who he was before Hydra and he can't reconcile what he was forced to do with the man who fought beside Captain America…Just try to talk to Lyla, see if you can at least get them to stop surveillance on my apartment."

Digg nodded. "I'll see what I can do." Felicity smiled and got up to leave.

"Felicity." Digg called after her. "Now might be a good time to tell Oliver."

Felicity paused at the door, "I'll think about it." Then she left.

She was getting back into her car when Laurel walked up to her. "Where's the Winter Soldier, Felicity?"

"Who told you that name?"

Laurel looked extremely angry. "I know you're hiding him. Where is he?"

Felicity looked at her calmly. "Who told you I was hiding him?"

"It doesn't matter." Laurel was furious. "What matters is that he killed Sara. Now where is he?"

"What are you talking about?" Felicity looked at her in horror.

"Your autopsy said the arrow trajectory was caused by being thrown with super human strength." Laurel's eyes blazed. "Strength like the type a super soldier would have."

"That doesn't make him her killer." Felicity retorted.

"How can you defend him?" Laurel shouted. "I thought Sara was your friend."

"She was." Felicity shouted back. "But you can't blindly accuse someone of murder without proof. You're a lawyer, you should know that."

Laurel was shaking and she took a step forward and swung at Felicity's head. Felicity saw her intention and ducked. Laurel's blow hit the roof of Felicity's car.

"Laurel, listen to me." Felicity said just as Laurel tried to hit her again. She dodged the second punch, but lost her balance. She tripped backwards and fell. Laurel grabbed her by her jacket. "I'm going to ask you again. Where is - aaah" She was thrown back. Felicity looked up to find Bucky looking at her with concern.

Bucky had been tailing Felicity. He had seen the woman…Lyla? enter her building, then leave it a few minutes later with an angry expression. He'd also seen the car following hers when she'd left work. He'd been keeping his distance, but then this other woman had walked up to Felicity. She'd been screaming. Asking where he was, accusing him of killing someone called Sara. Then she'd swung at her and he'd seen red. It was one thing to accuse him of killing someone, it was another to attack Felicity. He pushed her off Felicity. Checking to see if she was alright, he then grabbed the other woman by the throat.

"Leave. Her. Alone." he growled.

"You killed my sister." Laurel gasped. Bucky froze. Had he? He didn't remember killing someone named Sara, but there had been so many people over the years. So many faces. And Hydra didn't usually tell him the name of his targets. He felt someone touch his shoulder.

"Let her go." He turned to face Felicity.

"She tried to hurt you."

"I'm fine. Let her go."

He dropped her. The woman scrambled to her feet and ran. Bucky looked down at his hands in horror.

"I'm sorry. She was following you, then she attacked you." He looked at her hopelessly. Felicity grabbed one of his hands.

"There's an old clock tower in the glades. It's abandoned. If you go there you'll be safe. I'll meet you there soon." He looked at her.

"Go." She urged. "I promise I'll meet you there. Please James, you can't be out in the open like this."

He looked at her and nodded. The way she'd said his name, the concern in her eyes. She trusted him. He hoped he could be worthy of trust. He turned and ran away. He'd made it three blocks when he realized she'd grabbed his metal hand, and that she hadn't so much as flinched when she'd done so.

Laurel kept running. How could she have been so stupid as to think she could take on the Winter Soldier alone? She needed a new plan.

"Ms. Lance." A voice called from a parked town car. She stopped running and turned. The car door opened and the stern-faced woman from earlier got out. "My name is Amanda Waller. I believe we have much to discuss." She indicated that Laurel should get into the car. Laurel sat down and the car left as soon as the woman got in.

"I want justice for my sister." Laurel blurted out. The woman raised an eyebrow. "You won't get it from Queen. He's too blinded by his affection for Ms. Smoak and well she has other interests." Waller handed her a file folder. Inside were photos taken from outside Felicity's apartment. They showed the inside of her living room. Felicity was touching a shirtless Winter Soldier, her expression tender, concerned. He was looking at her as if she were the most important person he had ever seen. Laurel felt sick

"She's sleeping with that monster?"

"The photos speak for themselves." Waller said. "The Soldier was trained by Hydra. They have ways of persuading those who refuse to cooperate and bend them to their will. The Winter Soldier is one of their best so we can safely assume that he is very capable of this type of manipulation. Which is why we need to bring him to ARGUS.; it's the only way to assess what method he used on Ms. Smoak and attempt to undo it."

"You mean mind control?" Laurel was horrified. "Felicity might not even be aware of what he's doing to her." She contemplated this new information. "She has been acting different lately. I want to help."

Waller smiled "Of course you do. We'll train you and provide you with whatever assistance you require to take down the Soldier and bring him to us. That way we can break the control he has over Ms. Smoak and get justice for your sister."


	8. Chapter 8

Chatper 8

Felicity drove straight to her apartment and grabbed some clothes, food, pillows, and a blanket. She shoved everything in a duffel bag and rushed out the door, almost slamming into Roy was standing outside.

"Slow down Blondie." Roy grabbed her shoulders and looked her over. "Are you hurt? Digg said he saw Laurel attack you, but by the time he'd made it down the flights of stairs from his apartment you were both gone." His expression was murderous.

"I'm fine. James stopped her before she could do any serious damage." She tried to get pasted him, but he kept his hands on her shoulders and kept her in place.

"That's bull." He frowned. "And since when is the winter soldier James?"

"Roy." Felicity groaned. He grabbed the duffel bag and opened it. "Clothes, food. Okay spill, where are you hiding him?" He walked inside and Felicity followed him.

"Roy I can't take this right now."

"And I don't want my friend protecting a crazy man who could potentially endanger her."

Felicity glared at him. "He was being used Roy. He was forcibly altered into a mindless super-powered killer. He's trying to regain control over himself. He needs someone there to help him."

"Well that someone doesn't have to be you." Roy retorted.

"He trusts me." Felicity said. "I'm the only person he's opened up to. There is no one else. What if we'd given up on you after you went into the Mirakuru rage? What if we had just dismissed you as someone else's problem?"

Roy stiffened. "That's different."

"You're right, it is. James has been trapped for 60 years. No one has given him that chance; until now." Felicity grabbed the duffel bag. "If you try to stop me, I'll sink your credit score."

Roy shook his head. "I'm not going to stop you. I'm going to help you." He walked out and tossed her an extra bike helmet. "That mini cooper of yours isn't exactly covert. Also.." he grinned as he turned on his bike. "If you're going to make a threat, you might want to check that it carries weight. I'm pretty sure I don't have a credit score to sink."

They drove around for about half an hour, weaving through Starling City traffic. Felicity had disabled many of the street cams, but they wanted to make sure no one was following them.

"We need to make our way to the clock tower." Felicity shouted. Roy nodded and drove into the glades. Finally he parked the bike. "It's a 5 minute walk from here." They began making their way to the Clock Tower.

"We need to work on your comprehension of the word 'walk'" Felicity said, gasping for breath when they finally made it to the bottom of the tower. "That definitely qualifies as a sprint."

"I was making sure no one was tailing us." Roy muttered

"By making sure I couldn't follow you?"

Roy rolled his eyes.

Felicity caught her breath. "Okay, wait down here. I don't want you to scare him." She opened the door and went inside. Roy followed her.

"Like hell. There is no way I'm letting you go up alone. I trust you, but that doesn't mean I have to trust him."

They made their way up the stairs.

"Sergeant Barnes?" Felicity called out when they got to the top. "James, it's me." she looked around "James?" A small whimper came from the darkened corner of the clock. Bucky was there, shivering. His eyes blank, staring at the floor in front of him.

"Cold." He murmured.

"James." Felicity ran to him, he didn't seem to see her or register her presence. Felicity turned to Roy. "Give me the blanket." Roy stood rooted to the spot, speechless. "NOW." She shouted. He jerked into action, grabbing the blanket out of the duffel and handing it to Felicity.

"That's the super dangerous Hydra assassin?" he asked, incredously. At the word Hydra Bucky's shivering doubled and his previously blank expression turned panicked. "NO." he said "Please, no more. No more cold. Please."

"James, it's Felicity." Felicity wrapped the blanket around his shoulders. "You're safe."

"No please, don't hurt Felicity." He looked even more distraught. "Please she has nothing to do with Hydra."

"James." Felicity pleaded. Turning him to face her she stared him into his eyes. "I'm safe. You're safe. Hydra can't hurt you anymore." Bucky buried his head in Felicity's shoulder. He held him, tears running down her face. Roy looked on in horror.

"What the hell did they do to him?" he finally asked, his voice cracking with suppressed emotion. Felicity looked at him and shook her head. "I can't even imagine."

Bucky's shuddering finally stopped and his panicked breathing slowed. He pulled away slowly. "Felicity?" he said softly.

"I'm here." She responded.

"You're crying." He reached out as if to wipe her tears, then hesitated; he'd raised his metal arm. He put it down and looked at the floor. "You were gone so long."

"I'm sorry." She wiped her eyes. "It gets too cold up here. We need to find a better place for you to stay."

"The Queen Mansion." Roy blurted out. Bucky's head snapped up to look at him. He tensed. Felicity quickly put her hand on his arm.

"It's okay, he's a friend. This is Roy." Turning back to Roy she raised her eyebrows. "The Queen Mansion?"

"No one's lived there since Moira died." Roy explained. "Also the house was partially converted to solar power. That means that the electricity will be off the grid. No one will know he's there."

Felicity tilted her head and considered the idea. Then she grinned. "Roy. You are a genius."

He grimaced. "I have my moments. Plus I see what you meant earlier, he needs people to look out for him."

Felicity smiled. "You bring him there on the bike. I'll go back to my apartment and get some supplies and meet you."


	9. Chapter 9

(So I enjoy writing stories where I pair Felicity with other heroes who aren't Oliver. I do ship Olicity, but it's so much fun to pretend she could end up with other people. I set up a poll to determine which story I'll write next. It's on my profile. GO VOTE!)

Chapter 9

"TONY" Steve shouted as he barged into one of the labs at Stark Tower. "Tony we need to talk. What do you know about ARGUS?"

"ARGUS?" Bruce Banner's head emerged from behind a screen, his eyes magnified by the goggles he was wearing.

"AH AH AH" Tony ran forward waving his arms at Steve. "No use of the A word in the lab. Also no entrance without permission; it's not bring your grandpa to work day. We're very busy doing science."

"Tony this is important." Steve caught sight of Bruce's face. "Maybe we should take this conversation outside."

"NO…it's ok I'll just…" Bruce got up, knocking some test tubes to the floor. "I'm going to…yeah I'll go." He ran out.

Tony put his head in his hands. "Smooth Capsicle. If he Hulks out it's on you."

"I take it Bruce has a history with ARGUS." Steve looked at the door with concern, but there were no loud roars to indicate the presence of the Hulk.

"Waller tried to turn him into her personal lab rat a few years back. She wanted to recreate the experiment which created the Hulk. Since Bruce destroyed his formula, she decided the only thing to do was get her answers directly from the source." Tony frowned. Steve shook his head. Tony continued "They trapped him in a cell eerily similar to the one Fury had on the Helicarrier. Hulk is as strong as he is angry and it took 3 days for him to be angry enough to break through that prison. He broke out and destroyed half of the facility. 5 people died." Tony looked furious. "You remember before New York how he told us that he tried to…" Tony mimed pointing a gun at his temple. "It was because of that. He couldn't live with the guilt."

Steve turned and looked away.

"What makes you so interested in ARGUS?" Tony frowned.

"I got information that Waller might be interested in forcing Bucky into something called the Suicide Squad."

"Well that sounds like a party." Tony muttered. "Where did you get this info?"

"Felicity Smoak."

"Ah the Blonde heartbreaker. I want her." Tony stared off into space until Steve cleared his throat. "Purely for scientific reasons. Imagine what a mind like that could achieve here." He spread his arms indicating the lab. "Her talents are wasted at Queen Palmer Consolidated Technologies or whatever it's called this week."

"Tony."

"Sorry, but the next time you talk to her, tell her my offer still stands. I need her." Tony frowned. "As for Waller – "

"We can't let her have Barnes."

Steve and Tony turned to find Bruce standing in the doorway.

"She'll destroy him." He said firmly.

Steve took a shaky breath. "I figured as much. Ms. Smoak said that she believes he's in Starling City."

"Good, then we'll start there." Bruce said. Steve looked at him in concern.

"Dr. Banner, are you sure you don't want to sit this one out? This is personal and – "

"You're right Cap, it is personal." Bruce's eyes blazed and Steve could see that he was dangerously close to losing his control. "That's why I have to help."

Steve pursed his lips. "Okay." He turned to Tony. Tony looked at both of them, then rolled his eyes. "Count me in. Hell, I'll even call Barton and Widow and make it an Avengers reunion. We can even include the other bird, what's his name? The Eagle? Too bad Thor's on Asgard. I would have loved to see Waller's face when she realized she's messed with the Thunderer."

"She made an even bigger mistake." Bruce said through gritted teeth. "She messed with me."

"You sure you're okay there, you're looking a little green round the gills." Tony grinned at the look of exasperation that Steve gave him, but the joke had the desired effect. Bruce calmed down.

"No worries, I'm planning on keeping the other guy in until we run into Waller. He's got some emotions he needs to vent."

Tony grinned. "That's the spirit! JARVIS tell Pepper I'm not going to be able to make it for dinner. We're going on an adventure." He smacked Steve on the shoulder "Grab your stars and stripes Cap, we're off to rescue your damsel."

Miles away in an underground part of an ARGUS facility Laurel stood in the middle of a lab, looking at a strange machine.

"What is this?"

"You said you wanted to avenge your sister." Waller stood behind her. "This procedure will help you do so." She paused. "You do still want to take down the Winter Soldier?"

"Yes." Laurel said through gritted teeth. Waller smiled.

"Hold on to that anger Ms. Lance. You're going to need it."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

When Felicity got to the Queen Mansion, Roy and Bucky were waiting for her by the gate.

"We couldn't get inside until we were sure the security system was disabled." Roy explained.

Felicity went up to the electronic keypad which controlled the gate. "It's not active, but this gate won't open without it. Which means…" she trailed off as Roy grabbed the duffel bag and threw it over the gate. Then he climbed over after it.

"Toss me the rest of the bags." It took a few minutes, but eventually Bucky managed to toss all the bags over to Roy. Bucky looked over at Felicity. She looked at him nervously.

"This might be a good time to mention that I'm not exactly big on scaling walls or gates. I sort of have this thing about heights and I don't have ninja training, plus I'm wearing the wrong shoes and a skirt which isn't exactly good climbing gear. I mean I trust you boys, but I don't think any of us are in the point in our relationship where I would be okay with you looking up my skirt. And by relationship I mean…3…2…1" Felicity broke off, her face turning red. Roy started laughing. Bucky looked at her in concern.

"Don't worry dude." Roy said, looking at Bucky's expression. "You'll get used to it."

"You didn't even stop to breath" Bucky said, which sent Roy into another laughing fit. Bucky looked at the gate, then back at Felicity. A nervous calculating look entered his eyes.

"I could carry you." He said softly. Felicity looked at the ground.

"Are you sure?" Bucky nodded in response and turned so his back as to her. Then he crouched down. She climbed on, wrapping her legs around his waist and putting her arms around his neck.

"I'm not too heavy for you?" Felicity blurted out. "Right stupid question, I'm just going to be quiet now and OH MY GOD."

Bucky had begun climbing. She gripped him tighter and closed her eyes. "Please don't let me die." If it hadn't been for the potential of a horrible death she might have enjoyed being carried by Bucky. She could feel his muscles moving as he climbed and being wrapped around him wasn't a bad feeling.

Roy's fresh outburst of laughter told her that her interior monologue might not have been as internal as she hoped.

"Shut up Harper." She hissed.

"Not a chance Smoak. I wish I had a camera, this is priceless. I guess we all know why you're so eager to help him."

"Felicity." Bucky said

"What?!" she said.

Roy snorted. "Barnes wants to tell you that you're on firm ground. But he seems about as enthusiastic about you getting down as you are of letting go."

Felicity squeaked and let go, dropping to the ground. Before she could stumble Bucky turned and grabbed her arm, pulling her close to him.

"You're fast. Not that that's a bad thing…well for certain things it isn't great and I'm going to stop talking now. Felicity turned away to see Roy who could barely breath because of his laughter.

"Well since you seem to be enjoying yourself, I suppose you won't mind carrying the heavy bags." She turned and walked up to the mansion.

"He has super-strength." She heard Roy call after her. "Why do I have to do the heavy lifting?"

"As punishment." She shouted back. She was waiting for them in front of the doors when they made it up to the house.

"It's locked."

Roy rolled his eyes. "So that's why I'm here. You want me for my criminal expertise." He put down the bags and grabbed a bobby pin from Felicity's hair.

"Hey!"

"I need it." he began picking the lock. After about a minute it opened.

"Milady." He said, holding the door open for Felicity and handing her back her pin.

"Thanks Roy." They all walked in. "You boys make yourself comfortable. I'm going to hook the power grid up to the solar panels."

Roy waited until Felicity was out of earshot before turning to face Bucky.

"Let's make one think clear Barnes. Felicity is practically my family and if being associated with you gets her hurt…"

Bucky felt a rush of respect for the young man. He knew who Bucky was and what he was capable of doing, yet he still wanted to protect Felicity.

"Putting her in danger is the last thing I want."

"Just so we're clear."

They made their way into the living room where there was a big fireplace. They began unpacking the supplies Felicity had bought.

"That girl is a genius." Roy grinned as he pulled a fire log and matches from one of the bags. "She thinks of everything." Bucky nodded in response.

"Look I'm not usually much of a talker, but hanging around Blondie too much causes silences to make me nervous." Roy took a breath before continuing. "What was done to you was wrong, and I think it's good that you have someone looking out for you but…why Felicity?"

Bucky stiffened. "I was following Steve when he came here. He asked her for help and… I saw her." he broke off. "She's special. She also didn't know me before…" He raised his metal arm. "Steve expects me to be Bucky Barnes. His best friend, Felicity didn't have those expectations."

Roy smiled "Tell me about it. She's like a beacon of hope for the lost."

"I never wanted to bring trouble to her." Bucky looked distraught.

"No worries. I don't know how much Blondie told you, but trouble isn't exactly something we're unfamiliar with. And it was only a matter of time before ARGUS did something that crossed a line." Roy had meant for his words to reassure Bucky, but if anything his look of concern increased.

"Let there be LIGHT!" Felicity said as she flipped the switch.

"Thank you god." Roy grinned

"You are most welcome mortal." Felicity smirked "Who's hungry? I don't know about you guys, but breaking and entering makes my stomach rumble." She caught sight of the look on Bucky's face. "Not that I make a habit of breaking into other people's houses. And I know the guy who lived here before and who wants hot dogs? I bought some and if one of you sets the fire we can roast them in the fireplace."

The rest of the evening passed quickly. Roy and Felicity entertained Bucky with silly stories. While he stayed mostly silent, Felicity caught what was the beginning of a smile on his face.

Then Roy's phone rang. He answered.

"Oliver?" At the sound of the name Felicity started up and began making slicing motions across her neck.

"Um no I haven't seen Felicity." Roy said. "Maybe she's still at work? You know how see gets lost in her little nerd world sometimes."

"Really?" Felicity hissed.

Roy smirked, then continued his conversation with Oliver. "Yeah…ok…I'll be there." He hung up. "Is your phone off?"

"I couldn't take the chance that someone would track me here."

"Well Oliver's declared Def-con 1. I have to go meet him." Roy stood and looked at her questioningly.

Felicity was torn. On the one hand she knew Oliver would flip if she didn't tell him where she was. On the other, she really didn't want to leave Bucky alone just yet. Sensing her answer Roy groaned.

"I'll run interference with Oliver." He turned and began leaving. "He's going to use me as a human punching bag. I just know it."

He left the mansion. As he made his way down towards the gate, he stopped to look back inside. Through the living window he could see Felicity and Bucky's faces illuminated by the fire in the fireplace. Felicity was talking about a mile a minute, and Barnes was looking at her in wonder. Roy shook his head. "She's the real hero around here." He muttered as he walked back to his motorcycle.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Sorry I'm late. I had a thing." Roy walked down the stairs only to be met by Oliver's angry glare.

"Felicity's missing." He growled. "Her phone is off and I called Palmer technologies, she's not there."

Digg looked searchingly at Roy's face. Both were unsure how much they should tell Oliver. He was clearly losing his mind, but they had promised Felicity they wouldn't involve him. Oliver glared at their silent exchange.

"What aren't you telling me?" he snapped. "Waller came in here saying Felicity's helping a known Hydra agent who may be involved in Sara's death. I want answers." He paused to glare at them. "NOW."

**Stark Jet**

"So we're traveling cross-country to save Cap's bestie from the sadist who played doctor with Bruce." Clint Barton was sprawled across three seats, twirling an arrow between his fingers. "And to think I was worried today might be boring."

Natasha rolled her eyes and knocked his feet off the chair.

"Hey!" he pouted, "That was uncalled for."

Sam sat next to Steve, looking around the plane.

"This is beyond cool." He said

Clint eyed him. "Who invited the newbie?"

"Newbie helped us take down Hydra DC." Natasha snapped. "Where were you again?"

"Covert mission. Top secret."

"There are no more SHIELD secrets." Tony snorted. "Admit it; you were beach bumming on a tropical island."

"Fine. I was in Tahiti." Clint rolled his eyes. "Super spies need a vacation sometimes. It's hardly my fault that the world literally falls to pieces without me."

Tony coughed in disbelief.

"You weren't really in Tahiti, were you?" Sam muttered.

"I like this one Cap. He's smart." Clint grinned. "Assuming you don't die, we might just let you stick around."

"Really? And here I thought you'd be pissed not being the only bird around." Tony ducked as Clint threw a pillow at him. "Missed me."

"That was a warning shot. The next one will come from my quiver."

"Is it always like this?" Sam asked Steve who sighed. "No this is them actually behaving."

"Speaking of redundancies." Tony grinned, "There's another Robin Hood wannabe in Starling. Except he actually got the color scheme right."

Clint huffed. "The Hood."

"I hear he goes by the Arrow now." Tony said

"Oh that's original. What's next? The bow?" Clint sneered. "What's his side kick's name? Red Arrow?"

Tony cocked his head. "I don't think you're as funny as you think you are."

"The Canary's worked with the Arrow." Natasha said. "She seems to trust him."

Sam looked over at her with interest. "You know who he is under the hood, don't you?"

Tony perked up immediately. "Spill. Rhodey and I have a lot of money riding on this."

"I think something happened to the Canary." Steve's soft murmur stopped Natasha's irritated retort.

"What makes you say that?"

"When I mentioned that you'd worked with her to Ms. Smoak she seemed sad. She also referred to her in the past tense."

Natasha stiffened. "If that's true than the world has suffered a great loss."

Silence fell over the group.

"We're landing in 5 minutes." Tony said finally. "Any ideas as to what we should do first?"

"We should find Ms. Smoak and the Arrow." Natasha said. "We need to know all they do before we confront ARGUS openly."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Oliver sat heavily in Felicity's chair. He could not believe what Roy and Digg had finished telling him. Digg came back from calling Lyla.

"Lyla says there's no way Barnes could have killed Sara. He was spotted in DC by an ARGUS satellite the day it happened. Waller played you."

"She wanted to motivate me to find him." Oliver said weakly. He turned to Roy "And you're sure that Captain America came to Felicity with this?"

"That's what she said."

"It gets worse." Digg said. "Lyla didn't know that Waller accused Barnes of killing Sara, but I'm pretty sure that Laurel does. And that she believes her."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because I saw Laurel attack Felicity outside my apartment." Digg looked Oliver straight in the eyes.

"It makes no sense. Laurel has no real training. What would Waller gain pitting her against the Winter Soldier? It's only going to get her killed." Oliver ran a frustrated hand through his hair. He turned to Roy. "Is Felicity ok?"

He nodded. "She's safe and she's with Barnes."

"WHAT?!" Oliver jumped out of his chair; both he and Digg gave Roy identical looks of horror.

"Where is she?" Oliver growled.

"The less people who know, the better." Roy crossed his arms.

"Roy this isn't a joke. You left Felicity alone with an unstable killer." Oliver took a menacing step towards him.

"She's been around unstable killers before." Roy retorted. "In fact, I seem to remember you serving her up to one on a silver platter last year. Remember? Big guy. Eyepatch. Swords."

Oliver's face was murderous. "Where is she?"

"Barnes isn't going to hurt her. In fact, he's the one who saved her when your ex attacked her." Roy stood firm. "Look I get that you and Laurel had a thing, but she's been acting really irrational lately. Barnes is the third person she's accused of killing Sara without proof. She would have killed the first guy if you hadn't taken the clip from the gun and she begged you to kill Malcolm Merlyn." He took a breath and continued. "We need to find Laurel before she hurts someone or herself. Then we need to find a way to get Waller to back off Barnes and Felicity."

Oliver grabbed his cell phone.

"What are you doing?" Digg asked.

"Calling Laurel. She's smart. If she heard what Waller said, there's no way she just – "

"And I'm guessing she didn't try to break Felicity's nose, I must have imagined that." Digg glared. "Laurel has a blind spot when it comes to Sara, just like you have a blind spot when it comes to her."

Oliver ignored him and called Laurel. "Laurel I – Waller" His face darkened. "Where's Laurel? What have you done?...I don't know where Felicity is….no…wait don't." he groaned as he hung up. Turning to Roy he asked. "Are you sure Felicity's safe?"

"Yes."

"Waller has Laurel. She says she's at ARGUS to 'maximize her potential.' I have no idea what that means, but Waller sounded pleased and that's never good.

"Amen to that." Team Arrow turned to the source of the unknown voice.

"Is that Hawkeye?" Roy asked Digg.

"The one and only." He smirked "and I've brought friends."

As the members of team Arrow looked on in shock, more avengers entered the lair.

"We're here to help." Hawkeye grinned. "You're welcome."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"How did you get in here?" Oliver asked.

"Sara Lance is an old friend." The Black Widow stepped forward. "She told me about working with the Arrow. Given your history it was only logical to conclude you were the Arrow."

"Oliver Queen." Tony grinned. "Oliver Queen is the Arrow. I knew it. Bruce! Rhodey owes us money. I told him; never bet against the science bros."

"How did you get in?" Oliver growled.

Clint snorted. "You're talking to 2 of SHIELD's best, plus the man who's the reason it was called SHIELD in the first place. Are you seriously asking that question?"

"Where is Sara?" Natasha asked, Oliver looked away.

"She was killed." He said softly, "about 2 months ago."

Natasha barely flinched, but the edge in her voice betrayed her emotions. "My condolences."

Bruce cleared his throat. "You said that Waller had one of your friends?"

Digg nodded. "Her name is Laurel Lance. She was Sara's sister. Waller convinced her that the Winter Soldier caused Sara's death."

Steve paled, "What? How was Ms. Lance killed?"

"Shot in the chest with arrows." Roy said, pulling up the digital autopsy. Clint cocked his head. "Well that narrows it down the suspects. Every other person in this city goes around shooting arrows into people…OW!" He rubbed the back of his head where Natasha had smacked him. "By the way if imitation is the highest form of flattery, consider me seriously not flattered…OW! NATASHA!?"

"Bucky wouldn't use arrows." Steve said firmly. "When Hydra controlled him, his MO was Soviet bullets. Also this kill was done close range, Buck is a sniper. He'd have never been that close."

"I don't know whether it's weird or endearing that you've memorized your Borg buddy's kill patterns." Clint muttered, earning himself another smack from Natasha.

"We already know Barnes didn't do it." Oliver said. "Waller's using the ambiguity of Sara's death to turn Laurel against – " he stopped abruptly.

"Against who?" Steve said. Oliver folded his arms over his chest. Steve took a step closer. "Against who, Mr. Queen?" his stance and tone had changed. This was no longer Steve Rogers making a request; this was Captain America issuing an order.

"Felicity Smoak." Roy said. "Waller's been gunning for her in an effort to get to Barnes."

Steve turned to face Roy. "Waller wouldn't have reason to go after Felicity."

Oliver glared. "She didn't until you showed up."

"My visit shouldn't have caused this level of panic, unless…" he turned back to Roy, "She found him."

"More like he found her." Roy explained. "He followed you to Starling and saw you talking to her." he glanced at Oliver before continuing. "He's kinda fallen for her."

Steve's eyebrows met his hairline.

"She would have told you, but he made her promise not to." Roy stuck out his chin defiantly. He could tell that Captain Rogers didn't agree with Felicity's decision, but before the Super- soldier could interject he added. "She decided that keeping his secret was the best way to build trust and help him heal. She couldn't risk him disappearing because he felt pressured."

"She still could have told me." Steve said stubbornly. " I could have stayed in New York until he was ready to see me."

Sam snorted in disbelief.

"No you wouldn't have." Bruce said, turning to Roy he smiled. "Your friend did the right thing. It's gratifying to know that Tony's rants about Ms. Smoak's intelligence are well grounded. Now tell me more about Ms. Lance."

"She's been extremely unstable lately. She just got over an addiction problem only to lose her sister." Digg explained.

"So it's safe to say she's got a lot of uncontrolled rage." Bruce frowned. "Does she have an outlet for it?"

"She took up boxing." Oliver said. "There's this gym –"

"You aren't training her?" Natasha interrupted.

"Laurel can't be part of this life." Oliver said defensively. "It's not what Sara would have wanted."

"From the sound of things it seems she's going to do it whether or not you approve." Natasha pointed out.

"She thinks this is a game." Oliver felt his anger rising. "She thinks that because she knew who Sara and I were before the boat accident, that she understands what it takes to be a hero. She has no idea the types of things we endured, what we had to do to get to where we…" he broke off angrily. "She thinks a mask and couple boxing lessons makes her ready."

Bruce frowned. "That may be true, but I think we have a bigger problem." He looked over at Tony. "A MUCH bigger problem."

Tony's eyes widened. "You don't think?"

Bruce nodded.

"Crap."

"Would you mind explaining for the rest of us who don't share your mind link?" Clint grumbled.

"No one can withstand that level of exposure to Gamma radiation." Natasha frowned. "You were a scientific anomaly."

"They don't need the Gamma radiation." Bruce said, he was shaking. "They've got my blood."

Clint's frown deepened, then suddenly his eyes grew wide. "oh OH, Crap."

Oliver, Roy and Digg looked at each other. "Do you know what they're talking about?" Digg asked.

Steve put a reassuring hand on Bruce's shoulder. "Breathe Dr. Banner."

Natasha stepped forward. "Mr. Harper, am I right to assume that Felicity and the Winter Soldier are currently in the same location?"

Roy nodded.

"And is this location remote?"

Roy looked nervously at Oliver. "You could say that."

"Roy," Oliver said. "Where are they?"

Clint threw his arm around Natasha's shoulders. "Nat and I will go to ARGUS headquarters and do what spies do best. You guys go to this uber secret hideout. If we get to her before, then we'll bring her back for a chat, if not…" he looked at Bruce. "Then we'll lead her to you."

As they left the lair, they heard Oliver shout. "You hid them at my HOUSE?"

ARGUS Lab

Laurel didn't know what to expect. They'd had her change into a spandex suit, then put her in the lab. They'd restrained her, and then a doctor had entered holding an iv with a green liquid. "This is going to hurt a little, but what comes after may hurt more." Waller said.

"Nothing hurts more than losing my sister for the second time." Laurel said as she braced herself. Waller smiled. "Excellent."

The doctor injected the iv into her arm. The green liquid began entering her bloodstream.

"I don't feel any –AAARGH" Laurel's whole body convulsed. Her blood boiled. She thrashed against the restraints. The seizures were getting worse. Her ears pounded, her eyesight alternated between blurry and extremely clear. Her bones felt as though they were breaking. Her skin was stretching; the restraints were snapping. She cried out, but her voice didn't sound like hers anymore. Instead the roar from her throat matched the roaring of her blood through her veins.

Then there was nothing. She sat up. Amanda Waller stood in front of her.

"What is your mission?"

"Winter Soldier." Laurel growled in response.

Waller smiled. "Excellent."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"I've missed this." Clint said as he and Natasha jumped on the roof of ARGUS headquarters. "You and me, bonding over spy stuff….or should I say James Bonding."

Natasha rolled her eyes. "Why do I put up with you?"

"Because I'm pretty?" Clint offered innocently.

"Not that pretty." Natasha aimed her gauntlet at the roof and used a laser to begin to cut through. Clint shot an arrow in the center of the hole she was cutting. When she cut through, Clint pulled it up and put it aside, securing a grapple line her turned to Natasha.

"Rock, Paper, scissors who to see who gets to go down first?"

Natasha grabbed the rope and jumped in.

"Or we could just do that." Clint muttered as he followed her in.

"So far we haven't triggered any alarms." She turned on her com link. Walking over to a wall panel she plugged in a flash drive. "Okay Stark, we're in."

"This set up is impressive." Tony said. "It took me 5 whole minutes to link JARVIS to Felicity's systems. Where has she been all my life?"

"Tony." Natasha grumbled.

"Right, according to the building schematics I pulled off of Waller's computers, there's a super-reinforced med lab/torture chamber two floors beneath your position. There are no cameras there so once you enter the floor, you won't have me as backup. I'm scrubbing you from the security footage, but it's only a matter of time before they notice what's up. Don't die."

"Thanks for the pep talk Stark, now I see why Cap's the leader." Clint muttered. He and Natasha took the stairs, running down 2 floors.

"Ready for some thrilling heroics?" Clint asked as he and Natasha positioned themselves on either side of the door.

Natasha held up her fingers 3…2…1, then she wrenched the door open and ducked down. Clint went out first, doing what he called the 'superspy summersault' to get into position. Holding up his bow he stared down the hallway.

"Um, Tony?,…we may have to go to plan B."

"Why's that."

"Because either I'm staring at Bruce's long lost giant green sister, or they went through with the procedure."

The creature in front of him roared.

Clint gulped. "His much prettier giant green sister?" he said, before Natasha grabbed him and pulled him out into the staircase.

Queen Mansion

Felicity didn't know when she had fallen asleep. All she knew was that one minute she was warm and comfortable, cocooned in James' arms, then next she was yanked up to face a very angry Oliver.

"What the hell?" She said.

"Move." Oliver growled. He dragged her out of the living room, leaving Bucky alone on the ground still asleep. In the process she lost a shoe.

"Let GO OF ME."

"No, you're going back to the lair where it's safe."

"What are you talking about?"

Roy ran up to them. "She has a right to know what's going on Oliver."

"Funny." Oliver growled. "Because I didn't see her informing me when she decided to shack up with a known Hydra assassin IN MY HOUSE."

"Waller's got Laurel and she's turned her into some type of rage monster by injecting her with Bruce Banner's blood." Digg said as he walked up to the group. "Black Widow and Hawkeye are leading her here now."

"She's going to hurt James." Felicity said, "I've got to get him out of here."

"We won't let anything bad happen to him Ms. Smoak."

Felicity turned to see Captain America standing with Tony Stark, the Falcon and Bruce Banner. Steve smiled softly. "I care about Bucky too. He must really like you if he lets you call him James."

"I hope so." Felicity murmured, blushing. Oliver's jaw tightened. So did his grip on Felicity's arm.

"Ouch. Oliver, you can let go."

"No you're going with Digg back to the lair and staying put until I come and get you." Oliver began walking towards the van.

"Let GO." Felicity shouted. "I don't want to go back to the lair."

"Let her go." An angry voice said from behind him.

Bucky had been having a wonderful dream. It was warm, and there was light everywhere. Then suddenly he felt the warmth being pulled away. The cold set in. He forced himself awake. Felicity, she was gone. She said she'd stay with him, but now she was gone. He looked around and saw one of her shoes. Then he heard her. She was shouting at someone to let her go. She hadn't left; she'd been taken. He rushed out. She was being dragged towards a large black car by a man in a green hood.

"Let her go." He growled.

The man turned. "Not likely." He pushed Felicity behind him.

"Oliver stop being stupid." Felicity said. He looked at her. The two seemed very close. They didn't even use words, but after a moment he stepped back and she rushed over to Bucky.

"Are you okay?" she asked. He nodded slowly.

"You were gone, and your shoe….I thought something happened." He muttered embarrassed. He looked at her, trying to see if she was okay. He wanted to touch her, but something told him that the angry man in green wouldn't like that. He wondered how they knew each other. They seemed to understand each other implicitly. Bucky was lying to himself if he denied that he wanted that level of closeness with Felicity.

Felicity looked Bucky straight in the eyes. "I'm okay." Bucky scrutinized her face, then he caught sight of something behind her…and froze.

Steve smiled shyly at him. "Hey Buck."

Bucky backed away slowly.

"She didn't tell me you were here." Steve held up his hands. "I'm just here to stop Waller from kidnapping you and forcing you to join her kill squad." He smiled halfheartedly at him, then looked at the ground. "If you want me to give you space afterwards, I will."

Bucky stepped forward. "You were always a bad liar Rogers." He said softly.

Steve looked up. Then hugged him.

Roy nudged Felicity. "So does this mean you get both of them?"

"Not funny Roy." Oliver growled.

Steve let go and walked up to Felicity.

"Thank you for bringing him back."

Felicity smiled. Tony rolled his eyes. "If this love fest is over – "

A loud crash resounded from the gate.

"INCOMING." Clint yelled as he and Natasha scaled the gate.

"Looks like our guest of honor has arrived." Tony turned to Bruce. "If you'd be so kind as to give her a proper welcome."

"Don't hurt her." Felicity said. "She's angry and not in her right mind."

"That's the understatement of the century." Sam muttered as a Hulked out Laurel broke a hole in the Queen Mansion gate.

"Don't worry Ms Smoak." Bruce began walking towards Laurel. "I know angry."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Bruce stood in front of Laurel. He couldn't believe that Waller had taken advantage of this woman's pain to turn her into a monster like him. He also felt a measure of guilt. It had been his own arrogance that had cursed him with the other guy, but to have his curse inflicted on someone else. That was unspeakably painful to him. He felt rage stirring within him and he directed it towards Waller. She'd kidnapped him, imprisoned him, experimented on him, tortured him, and now she'd taken this woman and dragged her into his personal purgatory. Laurel didn't deserve this, no one did.

Laurel had spotted Bucky and Felicity. She charged forward only to find her path blocked by the Hulk.

"Move." she shouted

"NO" Hulk shouted back.

She punched him, but he held up a hand, catching her fist effortlessly.

"LISTEN." He roared. "NOT SMASH."

"MURDERER." She pointed at Bucky. She was smaller than Hulk, but she had him matched in rage.

"Do you think we should step in?" Roy asked as they watched the two Hulks collide and begin to fight. Everyone turned to give him an incredulous look. "Right, stupid question." he muttered.

"I've got a tranq arrow for emergencies." Clint said. "Banner designed it in case of him losing too much control. The problem is that it's calibrated for his specific DNA markers so shooting her could cause an adverse metabolic reaction which could – " he paused to take in everyone's shocked expressions. "What?"

"Where did you learn those words?" Tony asked.

"Just because I'm not a certified genius – " Clint's words were drowned out by a roar from Laurel. Bruce had forced her so her back was against the stone wall which surrounded the property. She punched the wall behind her and pried a stone loose; using it to hit Bruce on the head.

"I'd say he's going to feel that in the morning, but he won't" Tony turned to Oliver. "I'll pay for whatever damages he causes, seeing as you're currently not rich anymore."

Oliver frowned but nodded his thanks.

"In fact, I might just buy this house." Tony turned to admire the entrance. "It's a bit old fashioned for me, but the Avengers could use a second base of operation. The tower's a bit too obvious."

"And this is covert?" Steve rolled his eyes.

"You should be thanking me Rogers, it looks like your buddy here is pretty invested in staying in Starling." Tony looked pointedly at where Bucky and Felicity were standing together. "This way you'll have a nice place to kick back and relax. Or is this too modern for you?"

"Shouldn't this discussion be tabled for later?"

Laurel grabbed Bruce's leg and attempted to throw him. He managed to grip her hair, causing the two of them to fall to the ground. The reverberations cut Steve and Tony's argument short as everyone attempted to keep their footing. Felicity, who was still only wearing one shoe, grabbed onto Bucky to steady herself. He held her against him. Oliver frowned, but was too distracted catching Roy to comment.

Hulk got up first, putting his foot on Laurel's chest; forcing her to the ground.

"STAY DOWN."

She bit his foot in response.

"Ouch" Clint muttered

"What should we call her?" Tony asked "Lady Hulk? Hulkette?"

Oliver looked at him angrily. "This is hardly the time to pick out real estate or assign pet names."

"You're absolutely right. This is the time to wonder where she got that suit. I don't know about the rest of you, but I am getting pretty tired of having the full Banner experience." Tony tilted his head. "I bet that material de-stretches when she transforms back."

Bruce finally managed to pin Laurel back on the ground.

"LISTEN." He roared. "LISTEN TO MAN IN TIGHT GREEN PANTS."

"He means you." Clint stage-whispered to Oliver, pushing him forward. Oliver walked cautiously over to Laurel.

"Laurel. It's Ollie. I know you're angry, but the Winter Soldier…." He paused to look back at Bucky. "He didn't kill Sara. He wasn't even in Starling when it happened. I promised you I would find who did this, and it's a promise I intend to keep, but right now you need to calm down."

"LIES." Laurel shouted. "YOU'RE PROTECTING HER." She pointed at Felicity.

"Waller has footage of the Winter Soldier in DC when the attack happened." Oliver's voice was strained. "She lied to you, manipulated you. She wants him for her special opps team. She doesn't care about Sara. She's using you. Look what she did you."

"LIES." Laurel shouted, but this time her tone had changed. Oliver's words were getting through to her.

"Waller was ready to drop a nuclear bomb on Starling last year. She used an untested substance on you, she doesn't care about what happens to you or anyone else. Why would she care about avenging Sara? Please Laurel, you have to believe me. Please calm down."

As Oliver spoke, Laurel's body began convulsing. Her color began reverting back from green and she began shrinking. When he saw her beginning her transformation, Hulk reverted back to Bruce Banner. ("What did I tell you?" Tony said. "The material fits her even when she isn't green and ragey")

Laurel was on the ground in front of the group, tears running down her face. "I'm sorry." She said. She tried to stand, but wobbled. Bruce caught her before she fell.

"Believe me." he said kindly, "I know how you feel right now." He held her as she sobbed.

"But I really wanted to hurt you." Laurel was horrified. "I wanted to hurt them, and I was ready to kill all of you. If you hadn't managed to stop me"

"But I did." Bruce gave her a small smile. "No one got hurt."

"Um Dr. Banner." Oliver cleared his throat uncomfortably.

Bruce frowned at him, Tony laughed. "Queen just wants you to realize that your pants have been destroyed and you're holding his friend in your natural state."

Bruce flushed. "Sorry….yeah I'll just." He grabbed the pair of pants Tony tossed him. Laurel got up shakily and walked over to the group in front of the mansion. Steve put himself in front of Bucky, who put himself in front of Felicity.

"I promise not to hurt any of you. I want to apologize." Neither Steve nor Bucky backed down.

"I don't know what to say." Laurel murmured. "There's no way to make this right."

Felicity pushed past Bucky and went to hug Laurel. Though they weren't close, Laurel was still Sara's sister, and Felicity was going to try to be there for her, for Sara.

"Waller tricked you. Digg said. "It happens to the best of us."

"She hired Justin Hammer to try to recreate my tech and almost got me killed a few years back." Tony offered.

"When she was a SHIELD agent she nearly got Clint and me killed in Budapest." Natasha added.

"She captured me and tortured me for days." Bruce said, walking up behind Laurel. He put his hand on her shoulder. "It's how she was able to turn you into the Hulk…I'm so sorry." Laurel turned to face him. "It's not your fault."

"At least it's over now." Oliver said in what he hoped was a reassuring tone. The Avengers all gave Laurel a pitying look. Laurel paled.

"This isn't going to happen again, right" she pleaded with Bruce. Bucky grabbed Felicity and pulled her back. Bruce put both hands on Laurel's shoulders.

"The Hulk isn't a temporary condition." He said slowly. "you're going to have this for the rest of your life."

"WHAT?"

"You'll probably have an easier time controlling your other person than I do because you weren't directly exposed to gamma radiation." Bruce explained. He could see that Laurel was getting angry again. "I'll teach you. You can come back to New York with us and I promise I'll help you live with the other gu…person."

Laurel nodded slowly. "That sounds good, but first I need to find the person who did this to me." her skin took on a greenish tinge. "And make her pay."

Everyone took a collective step as her transformation began.

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Well, this could be a problem."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"Dr Banner, you need to go after her." Steve said. "In that state she's a danger to herself and anyone she encounters."

Bruce stared at Laurel's retreating Hulk form and with a roar, took after her as the Hulk.

"Is he going to stop her, or help her?" Sam asked.

"I say we let the big guy let off some steam." Tony said.

"Stark." Steve warned.

"You know what Waller did to him. You saw what she did to her and who knows what she would have planned for your howling commando." Tony said.

"And you know what the guilt of the Hulk's actions does to Bruce." Steve retorted "Waller deserves to brought to justice for her crimes, not to be executed."

Tony frowned, but nodded. Steve turned to Sam.

"You've got that look that says you're about to do something heroic and stupid." Sam grumbled.

"Ms. Smoak, would you mind riding with Tony." Steve said, "Give me a lift Falcon?"

"Don't get used to this Rogers. You aren't exactly the lightest person around."

Steve turned to face the rest of the group. "The rest of you will tail Hulk and Laurel Hulk."

"Hulkerina." Tony muttered; Steve ignored him.

"Queen, Roy, I'm assuming you all have tranquilizer arrows, now is the time to use them. See you at ARGUS."

Sam grabbed Steve by his shield's harness and took off.

"Was he always this bossy?" Clint asked Bucky.

Bucky tilted his head, "No." he murmured slowly. "I think this is him being reasonable."

"Well look who decided to return to the land of the living." Clint looked delighted. "After we're done here, you are going to spill every piece of dirt you have on our sainted Captain."

"I've issued a citywide alert that everyone should get to shelter." Felicity looked up from her tablet. "I don't know if they'll go through the main part of the city, but better safe than sorry." She walked over to Tony. "I've got this thing about heights…"

Bucky followed her over. "If she gets hurt Stark, I'll be coming for you." He growled.

"No worries. I have plans for this young lady." Tony smirked. He picked up Felicity. "Later, Jamie." And took off after Sam.

"Plans" Oliver said through gritted teeth.

"Stark's wanted Felicity to work for him for years." Clint explained. Bucky glared and followed Digg towards the van.

"Come on Queen." Clint's motorcycle had been destroyed by Laurel so he was riding on the back of Oliver's. Natasha was riding with Roy. "Let's see if you're a better driver then you are an archer."

Sam and Steve landed in front of the ARGUS building. Felicity and Tony had gotten there a few minutes earlier.

"If you want me to have a look at those wings Wilson, I can help you fly faster." Tony offered.

"Sam, you go help the others with the Hulks. Tony, I'm going to need you as back up. Is Waller inside?"

"JARVIS is still patched in to their internal security. Hold on…she's in some type of underground command center."

"I know where that is." Felicity said.

"Then let's storm the castle." Tony turned to face Steve. "Age before beauty."

Steve went in first, with Tony and Felicity behind him. They were almost instantly attacked by ARGUS agents. Tony and Steve fought to subdue them. Felicity marveled at Steve's combat agility. She'd seen Oliver take down countless bad guys, but Steve's skills made it look like child's play.

"You should see Bucky fight." Steve said as he disarmed the last of the agents.

"Did I say that out loud?" Felicity looked away embarrassed. They continued their way down to the command center.

"So what's the plan Capsicle?" Tony asked when they reached the door.

"Just follow my lead."

"Vague." Tony appraised. "I like it."

Steve turned to look at Felicity. "Stay behind Tony and me. I'll never forgive myself is something happens to Buck's girl." Felicity nodded.

Steve turned and kicked down the door.

"Knock, knock." Tony said. "Oh Mandy, I'm home."

Waller stood in the center of the room, surrounded by armed agents. Lyla was unconscious and bound and gagged on a chair in front of her, while Waller held a gun to her head.

"One more step and I pull the trigger."

"It's over Ma'am." Steve said. "I'm offering you the easy way out. Surrender and you'll get a fair trial."

"Or you could go for the hard way." Tony said. "Personally, I'm hoping you do, because I know two not so jolly green giants who want pay back, and frankly letting them take you, and this building, down is more fun than Cap's plan."

Waller kept her gun pointed at Lyla's head.

"Agent Michaels was a trusted agent. I'm using the past tense, because that trust evaporated the second she burst in here earlier and tried to interfere with my plans. I will have no problem terminating her. Just as I will have no problem killing the both of you and using Ms Smoak to bring your war buddy to heel."

Cap calmly threw his shield, knocking the gun out of Waller's hands. Tony activated the missiles in his suit and stood in front of Felicity.

"As courtesy, I'm going to inform you, that I've got a missile with enough fire power to take out a tank pointed at each of you." Tony said. "Now listen to Cap."

"You're bluffing." Waller stuck her chin out defiantly. Her agents were less convinced and they all lowered their weapons. Steve freed Lyla and had Felicity help her out into the hall. Then he tied Waller into the chair.

"What are you going to do now?" Waller asked.

"You seem remarkably calm for someone whose entire life's work just came crumbling around her." Felicity said. Steve frowned.

He stood in front of her.

"We're going to tape a confession. You've committed numerous crimes and we're going to have you admit to them. These two are here to make sure everyone sees it." he turned to Tony and Felicity. "I want it playing on every computer, TV, cell phone, and internet capable device. After today, there will be nowhere in the world for her to hide."

"What do you say Smoaky?" Tony grinned. "Ready to hack the earth?"

"I did what I had to do for the safety of the country." Waller spat. "It was for the greater good."

Steve leaned forward. "I've heard others make the same claim. That the ends justify the means or that they were simply following orders. Those people and I tend to disagree." He frowned. "You use extreme measures to bring people to heel. All in the name of protection and order. You've kidnapped, tortured, and performed dangerous experiments on innocent civilians. In fact you're frighteningly similar to – " he stepped back; his expression changing from one of anger to one of horror filled realization. Waller sneered "So you understand." Her expression sent a chill down Felicity's spine.

"That's why you wanted Bucky so badly." Steve said

"What is it Cap?" Tony asked, confused, but Felicity gasped as it clicked in her mind.

Waller cackled.

"Hail Hydra."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Half of the ARGUS agents grabbed their guns and began firing. Steve grabbed Felicity and Lyla and pushed them outside the lab.

"Call for back up." He shouted. Then he shut the door.

There were sounds of gunfire, explosions and screams coming from inside the room. Felicity called over comms.

"If any of you aren't too busy we have a serious problem at ARGUS and we need back up."

Next to her Lyla began to stir. Catching sight of Felicity she began panicking. "You need to get out. Waller is – "

"I know." Felicity put her hands on Lyla's shoulders to keep her still. "You were knocked out, but don't worry. Captain America and Iron Man are dealing with Waller." The lab behind her an explosion went off that shook the foundations of the building. "We might want to get out of here and wait for back up though."

She had just helped Lyla to her feet when Bucky, Sam, and Roy ran down the stairs.

"Felicity are you okay?" Bucky frantically looked her over to check for any injuries.

"I'm fine. You need to get out of here. Waller is Hydra." Bucky stiffened. He turned to face the door.

"Felicity's right." Lyla said. "I just found out and when I tried to stop her, Waller nearly killed me." She looked at the ground. "I'm sorry for any part that I might have played in this."

Bucky nodded then turned to look at Felicity. "Is Steve in there?"

"Yes."

He looked over at Roy. "Make sure Agent Michaels and Felicity stay out of danger."

"James."

"This isn't a discussion Felicity." He turned and faced the door. "Ready Wilson?"

Sam grimaced. "Let's just say, I'm grateful that this time you're on my side."

Bucky nodded. "If anyone besides us or Captain Rogers or Iron man comes out this door, shoot them." he instructed Roy.

Then he broke down the door. There was a flurry of noise, then after a few minutes, there was silence. Lyla went out to get Digg and the others. Felicity waited, then she and Roy cautiously entered the lab.

Tony and Sam were flanking Steve. Around the room were unconscious (At least she hoped they were.) agents. Steve had Waller by the throat and was holding her against the wall.

"What did you do to him." He growled.

Sam saw Felicity and Roy.

"You shouldn't be here." He said. "go get the others."

"Lyla's already doing that. Where's James?" Felicity looked anxiously around the lab.

Bucky was kneeling on the ground near where Waller's chair had been. His face expressionless; his eyes, empty.

"James." Felicity ran forward, but Tony held her back. Bucky looked up at her confused.

"Who's James?' he asked, his voice hollow.

"Waller used some type of Hydra trigger word." Tony explained quietly. "He's not himself, he could be dangerous."

Steve's fingers tightened around Waller's throat. "Start talking. Undo it."

Waller laughed. "Or what? You'll kill me?" she smirked. "There's no undoing. He's not your Bucky Barnes or her precious James anymore. That command is used to trigger the Winter Soldier. He's gone."

Steve started shaking with rage.

"Cap." Sam said. "Whatever she's done, we can fix. She's lost. We can have her arrested and then take Barnes back to New York. He found his memories once; we can help him find them again.

Steve threw her to the ground.

"Tie all of them up and call Maria Hill. Tell her to inform the congressional subcommittee that keeps annoying her that the Avengers just found another government agency poisoned by Hydra and that the next time they go after former SHIELD agents they might want to check their own people first"

He walked over to Bucky, who stood and moved away from him.

"No one here is going to hurt you." Steve said, but it was clear from Bucky's expression that he didn't believe him.

"You are my target." He said. "Targets are made to be eliminated." He pushed Tony to the floor and grabbed Felicity. "Surrender or I kill her."

Felicity had tears streaming down her face. Steve met her eyes and she saw the intense pain he held in them.

"Buck." He said. "Look at me. It's Steve." He stepped forward, holding up his hands. "Let her go. I promise you that I won't hurt you."

"James." Felicity pleaded. "He's your friend."

Bucky looked down at her. For a moment it appeared that a part of him recognized her. He looked at Steve, confusion and pain etched on his features.

"You are my target." He said. "Targets are meant to be eliminated." He put his metal arm across Felicity's neck. "All of you."

"James." Felicity.

Then suddenly there was the sound of an arrow leaving a bow string.

"Nice shot Queen." Barton said. "Maybe you do know how to use that bow."

Felicity felt James grow heavy, his hold on her slipping. She and Steve both grabbed his arms as he began to collapse to the ground.

"Steve?' he asked quietly. Steve nodded. Then Bucky turned to Felicity. It almost appeared that he recognized her, but then the tranquilizer kicked in.

Felicity glared at Oliver.

"He had you and was going to hurt you." Oliver growled.

Steve frowned, but nodded. "There's no telling what he might have done, even accidentally." He put a reassuring hand on Felicity's shoulder. "Buck would never have forgiven himself if he hurt you."

"We'll get him back." She said, surprising herself with the strength and determination in her tone.

"Yes." Steve said softly, "Yes we will."


	18. Chapter 18

It had been 2 months. The Avengers had taken Laurel and Bucky back to New York. Felicity got regular updates from them on his condition, interlaced with increasingly ridiculous job offers from Tony. The last time he'd called he offered to make her mayor of New York if she'd accept a position at Stark Industries. Bruce's calls were nicer, though Oliver tended to grab the phone away for news on Laurel and her anger management. It seemed to be going well as Bruce had been happy to report only $50,000 worth of damage from her last tantrum.

Clint rarely had news and mostly called to berate Oliver on his archery form. Steve was quiet. His calls were the most disheartening because while his assessment of Bucky's condition was accurate, his obvious disappointment in his friend's lack of progress hurt Felicity more than no news.

Her last video conference with Hawkeye had been 3 days ago. Usually someone called once a day with updates. She was worried that something had gone wrong.

"Felicity?" She was snapped from her thoughts by Ray's voice. She turned to look at the rest of the board room. The heads of the departments of Palmer Technologies were looking at her in confusion.

"Sorry." She murmured. Ray frowned. Turning to the others he dismissed the meeting. Felicity went up to her office.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Ray had followed her. "You seem distracted, unhappy." He crossed his arms. "It's beginning to seriously affect your productivity." He tilted his head in concern. "Is there someone you can talk to?"

"I hate to interrupt…" Felicity and Ray turned to see Tony Stark leaning against the doorframe. "But I need a quick word with Ms. Smoak."

"Mr. Stark." Ray looked annoyed "how did you get in here?"

"I'm Iron Man." Tony's expression indicated his exasperation.

"He had help." Natasha stepped out from behind him.

"This is Natalie not wait…urgh what was your fake assistant name?" Tony looked at Natasha then shrugged. "Doesn't matter. We need to talk to Felicity."

"Felicity is a Palmer technologies employee. Why would she need to talk to the CEO of Stark Industries?" Ray crossed his arms.

"I don't know where you're getting your info, but Pepper Potts is the head of Stark Industries." Tony sat in Felicity's chair. "I just oversee special projects. Besides I'm here on super-secret Avengers business." He grinned at Natasha's exasperated sigh. "We need her to come to New York."

Felicity began to feel panic. "Is James okay?" She looked at Natasha. The spy's face was impassive and she threw a pointed look at Ray. Felicity turned to him. "I think you'd be better off waiting outside."

"What?"

"This is personal. It has nothing to do with work."

"Is this why you've been off lately? You've been secretly working with the Avengers? Have you been supplying them with our tech?"

Tony snorted. "Oh please. As if I didn't invent anything you have in your R&D department 3 years ago in a 2 am coffee coma." He leaned back. "Go quietly and when I inevitably buy your company I might let you continue to work here."

Ray turned and left, but Felicity knew she would be hearing about this later.

"What an ass." Tony grumbled "And I'm saying that."

"He's not so bad once you get to know him. He really does want to help Starling City." Felicity said.

Tony raised his eyebrows, "Well I guess that explains the Iron Suit knock off I found in his personal files."

"You hacked his files." Felicity shook her head in disbelief.

"Standard Stark protocol when entering enemy territory." Tony faltered at the disappointed look on her face. "I didn't do anything bad I just had a peek. His suit needs maaajor work if he wants to be a superhero. I can already tell he's going to have some problems. It's got lab accident written all over it."

Natasha loudly cleared her throat. "Let's not forget why we came here." She pulled out a tablet and opened a video. Felicity looked at the screen. She could see Bucky sitting. He looked lost and forlorn. Steve walked up to him and started to talk. Though she couldn't hear what was being said she could tell that the words upset Bucky.

"He'd been getting better." Tony explained. "He asked about the Dodgers last week. We didn't know how to tell him they aren't in Brooklyn anymore. Most of the time he sits and stares into space; the memories he's regaining are difficult for him to process. Then 3 days ago he walked in just after Clint finished a video conference with you. Your face was on the screen."

Natasha pulled up a different video. Bucky was fighting Steve, demanding that he bring him…

"счастье" Natasha said. "It's Russian. It means Felicity."

Felicity looked at the two Avengers. "When can I see him?" she asked.

Tony grinned. "I was hoping you'd say that."


	19. Chapter 19

Bucky sat in the room. His head was pounding, but that wasn't new. He was the Asset, he was used to pain. The pain gave him new memories, and soon the pain would give him счастье. His memories were fleeting. Some things stayed, but most of the time, he'd remember a name only to forget it a moment later. This made Steve sad. Steve was kind, Bucky knew he could trust Steve, but sometimes when Bucky looked at Steve he saw a smaller man with the same face. It was confusing. Everything was confusing. He needed счастье. Steve had promised she'd be here. Steve never lied because Captain…Bucky lost his train of thought.

"Sergeant Barnes!" The loud man came in. "Uncle Tony brought you a present."

"Are you mad Man of Iron?" The big blonde man followed. "The Lady Smoak is not equipped to defend herself if the Sergeant cannot control himself."

"Relax Thunderpants. I'm not stupid; I wasn't planning on letting her go in alone. And stop ruining my surprise."

Steve walked in.

"Capsicle! You're just in time for the big reveal. Want to help me chaperone these crazy kids?"

"We should have implemented a safety plan." Steve murmured.

"The Captain is correct." Blonde man said. "Did Eye of Hawk not say that he tried to kill her the last time they met?"

"But he didn't, focus on the positive." The loud man's tone reminded Bucky of someone.

"Howard." He said suddenly. Everyone turned to look at him.

"No, Tony." The man who looked like Howard rolled his eyes. "If you're going to bring Daddy Dearest into this, then I won't give you your present."

"I am NOT a present. And I'm sick of waiting outside while you morons argue. I came to help James and that's what I'm going to do."

Bucky stood up. That voice. "счастье" he murmured.

She smiled. It was bright. He walked to her, but then the pounding in his head increased. He crumpled to the floor, clutching his head.

"James." He heard someone shout. He felt someone hold him. He couldn't open his eyes, the pain was too strong.

Felicity held Bucky. Tremors ran through his body. She caressed his hair and held his head against her shoulder.

"This wasn't exactly the physical reaction I was expecting." Tony said. Thor smacked him on the back of the head. "Do not disrespect the Lady Smoak."

Steve knelt on the ground next to her and Bucky. Bucky's tremors slowed. His breathing evened out and he nestled his head into Felicity's shoulder. Slowly he opened his eyes.

"Felicity." His voice was barely a whisper. He raised his hand and brushed away the tears running down her cheeks.

"You remember?"

"I remember everything."

Steve smiled. "Are you really back?" he asked.

Bucky gave him a calculating look. Then he turned to Felicity. "Do the history books ever mention the summer of '38?"

"He's back." Steve said hurriedly. He blushed as a sly grin spread over Bucky's face.

"This is great." A voice said from the vents.

"Did the ceiling just talk?" Felicity said.

"Yeah, it does that, but usually it has a British accent." Steve frowned at the vent.

"Eye of Hawk." Thor said. "Cease your spying,"

Clint sighed and came out of the vents. "I wasn't spying. I was surveying." He waved a tranq dart in front of Thor's face. "In case the snowman went abominable." He turned excitedly to Bucky "What happened during the summer of 38?"

"Did you guys really think I'd let Felicity walk into a potentially dangerous situation without backup?" Tony pouted. "That hurts. I would never."

Felicity smiled. "Thank you Mr. Stark."

"If she died, I would never have gotten her to betray Palmer and work for me." Tony grinned as the others let out a collective groan.

"Nice Stark," Clint said "For a second there you were almost a decent human."

"I do nice things all the time." Tony pointed at Bucky and Felicity. "That is all me. You're welcome."

He sighed at everyone's looks of irritation. "Who flew out to Starling to get her while the rest of you were whining about whether or not Lover boy was stable enough? Me. Who dismantled all the evil Hydra Booby traps in Sargie's arm? Me. Who gave Cap Felicity's name in the first place? Me."

"We get it." Steve grumbled. "Bucky needs rest. We can move him to his room."

"Banner should check him out." Tony said, then caught sight of the look on Bucky's face, "But that can probably wait until tomorrow."

Bucky clung to Felicity. "Are you staying?" he asked. He hoped he didn't sound too eager, but the thought of her leaving was even more painful to him than the pounding in his head.

"Well I'm pretty sure that Tony got me fired."

Tony smirked "It's all part of my Master Plan Smoak."

Felicity rolled her eyes. "And the team can handle a few days without me." She smiled. "Besides, I don't want to risk you forgetting about me."

"I don't think I'll ever forget you again, счастье"


	20. Chapter 20

Felicity's first days at the Tower were surreal. Sure she'd been around superheroes before, but it was really strange to be around The Avengers; especially seeing them doing regular things like eating shwarma or watching TV. Bucky had to spend a lot of time in the lab, but the second he was free, they would go out and explore Manhattan, usually accompanied by Steve or Dr. Foster's intern, Darcy Lewis. Darcy and Felicity had become fast friends. She'd gone down to investigate Jane Foster's lab, because it was just as cool as Tony and Bruce's, but had the added bonus of not being at constant risk of exploding experiments. Lewis had run up introducing herself as "Darcy Lewis, Intern extraordinaire, I stopped an alien invasion in London and I once tased Thor."

After about a week and a half, Tony assembled the Avengers in the main room of the pent house.

"You're probably wondering why I called you all here." Tony said, walking over to one of the display screens.

"Not really," Clint said from his perch on the couch's arm rest. "I overheard you talking to Pepper, plus you've been making references to your evil 'Master plan' since you brought Smoakie from Starling. My super spy senses tell me you're about to unveil it." he grinned at Felicity. "Rusty's got a thing for drama."

Tony frowned at Clint. "Stop stealing my spotlight, Hawkass." He turning to the holotable he pulled up a 3d image of a mansion."

"Is that Oliver's mansion?" Felicity asked, walking forward to stand next to him.

"Yes. This is the boring before image." Tony smirked. "This is the after image." He swiped his hand across the image. "Welcome to Avengers Mansion. Formerly the monument to one family's delusions of royalty, now the most kickass superhero base ever made, besides the Tower."

He ran them through a blueprint of his plans for the mansion. "We're adding JARVIS to all the rooms, just like the Tower. Each Avenger is also getting their own room. There's going to be an underground training complex, strong enough to withstand the Hulk... both of them. We're also going to have a lab and an armory. Reinforced punching bags for the American dream team, Archery range for Hawkass, though I might be scrapping that if you annoy me too much. It's also got a kite and a key, in case I want Thor to help with a Ben Franklin reenactment. For Widow, a private training room which no one but Romanov will have access to. And a special outdoor obstacle course with obstacles, both in the air and on the ground."

Tony was grinning like a child at Christmas, "And I want Felicity to run it."

"Wait, what?" Felicity looked at him in surprise.

"Well Palmer's probably fired you by now. Plus in light of recent events we need to branch out. Ms Lance is going to go back to work in Starling, and there's no way we're letting her go back alone."

"Tony." Bruce shot him a warning look, then looked over at Laurel who was sitting next to him on the couch. Laurel gave him a small smile.

"It's alright Bruce. Mr. Stark is right. I'm too dangerous to be by myself."

"I'm always right, but it is nice to have someone else say it from time to time." Tony turned back to his screens. "Anyways, I'm giving Queenie honorary Avengers status along with little red and Mr. Diggle." (Tony had great respect for Digg. When Felicity had called the team to say that Bucky was recovering, Digg had threatened Bucky with serious bodily harm if he ever broke Felicity's heart. Ever since, Tony had called him Mr. Diggle.) He turned to Felicity, "Also your boyfriend is permanently glued to your side. Since you're probably going to want to go back home, and he's going to follow you, then Cap's going to follow him and Wilson will tag along and Barton's going to follow to establish his position as the alpha archer and Romanov is going to follow him because…" Tony caught sight of Natasha's face and wisely decided not to finish his sentence. "yeah…um…basically I'm losing half my team here."

He gave Felicity a look that was practically pleading. "My dear Ms. Smoak." He said. "I promise this job comes with all the perks; all the newest toys. Plus your own room in the mansion; adjoining ones for you and Lover Boy. You'd be the Avengers mission tech, plus unfettered access to the lab to tinker around to create possibly the greatest operating system ever created." He got down on one knee holding her hand in his. "Will you, Felicity Smoak, make me the happiest man alive by accepting this kickass job offer?"

Bucky tensed. Seeing another man on his knees in front of his girl made him a little possessive, even if it was only a job offer. Pepper Potts saw his reaction and chuckled. Felicity looked at Tony bewildered. Then she looked over at Bucky. When their eyes met, Bucky's breath caught. He wanted her to take the job. She had become the most important person in his life and he was terrified to lose her. But he also knew that she needed to have her own life. He couldn't force someone as pure and good as her to be dragged into his darkness. Felicity gave him a smile that practically blinded him.

"Yes." She said. "I'll take the job."

Starling City

Oliver stormed down the foundry stairs. Roy and Digg shot each other identical looks of frustration.

"She's been gone three weeks." He said. "First Laurel, now Felicity. I guess since I'm no longer a billionaire I'm not as interesting as Stark."

"I sincerely hope that's your anger talking man." Digg rolled his eyes. "Because that is probably the stupidest thing I've ever heard you say."

"She left to help Barnes." Roy leaned against the med table.

"And he's got his memory back." Oliver grumbled. "He and Captain Rogers can go howling commando into the sunset. Mission accomplished. We need Felicity HERE." He slammed his hands on the med table.

"She's coming back soon." Roy said slowly. "Stark's setting up a base in Starling and she's going to run it."

"I think we have bigger problems." Digg looked into the darkness in the back of the lair. Roy and Oliver turned to find Nyssa al Ghul surrounded by members of the League of Assassins.

"Nyssa." Oliver stepped forward. Nyssa pointed her bow at him.

"Where is Sara's killer, Mr. Queen?" Her hushed voice was full of pain.

"We've been looking, but – "

Nyssa cut off his excuses. "You seem to lack the proper motivation. You've wasted your time on this city and the whereabouts of your friend Felicity Smoak." Nyssa spat out the name as if it were poison. "How quickly you have forgotten Sara, a woman you professed to love, and turned your affections to Ms. Smoak. Ta el Asfer also spoke very highly of her." she added bitterly. "If you do not bring me Sara Lance's killer within the next week I will take Ms. Smoak and turn her into one of us."

"Sara wouldn't have wanted this." Oliver said forcefully.

"Sara is dead." Nyssa said. "Perhaps losing someone as dear to you as she was to me will give you some perspective."

She and the other assassins melted into the shadows.

Roy, Digg, and Oliver looked at each other in horror.

"We need to call the Avengers."


	21. Chapter 21

Oliver, Digg, and Roy were standing nervously in the elevator at Stark Tower. When they'd contacted the Avengers to warn them about Nyssa's threat, tony had insisted that Team Arrow come to New York. The doors opened on the top floor and they stepped out into an enormous penthouse. Tony and Thor were standing behind the bar debating the merits of Asgardian Ale vs Scotch. The rest of the Avengers were in the middle of the room around a holotable.

"Oliver! John! Roy!" Felicity and Laurel both rushed over. Oliver grabbed Felicity and held her close. He could see Barnes glowering from the table but ignored him. Too soon she pulled away to hug John and Roy. Barnes walked over stiffly and held out his hand.

"Mr. Queen" he said gruffly

"Sergeant Barnes." Oliver replied, he took hold of Barnes hand; and maybe squeezed a bit too hard, though Barnes didn't seem to feel it. In fact he simply smirked at Oliver and turned to greet Roy and Digg. Felicity had been watching and shot Oliver an exasperated look while Laurel rolled her eyes.

"Boys." She muttered.

"I know, right?" Felicity responded.

"Since when are you two close?" Oliver asked.

"Us girls have to stick together." A short brunette with glasses said from the couch. "There's way too much testosterone floating around here." She grinned. "Some of it is Super testosterone. Darcy Lewis, I tase Demi gods, I'm dangerous."

Oliver looked at her dazed.

"Play nice." Tony said "I just had the holes in the floor fixed, I don't need new ones."

"Sorry." Bruce mumbled.

"No worries. I actually liked the Loki sized holes, but I realized they were a health hazard after the 4th time I tripped during a midnight coffee run. Nothing gets between me and my coffee." He turned to team Arrow. "Did you bring the DNA sample?"

"Here," Digg said holding out a bag with an arrow. "And I have a copy of the digital autopsy Felicity made."

Tony's eyebrow twitched. Pepper and Bruce, now accustomed to his quirks went to Digg.

"He doesn't like to be handed things." Pepper explained to a bewildered Digg as she took the flash drive he was holding.

"He also doesn't like lower grade tech in his building." Tony grumbled as he glared at the flash drive Pepper was connecting to the holotable.

"I'll go to the lab to run some tests." Bruce said as he left.

Tony was about to open the files, when he paused to look at Laurel. "Are you sure you want to be here?" he asked gently. "No one will blame you if you want to leave."

Laurel squared her shoulders and looked at the table. "I can handle it."

Tony nodded and pulled up the 3d images of Sara's body. He began examining the image and comparing it to Felicity's notes.

"You think the arrows were thrown?" He asked

Felicity nodded. "The trajectory is off. The arrows come from close range and – "

"Have you considered the possibility of a shorter archer?" Clint asked. He tilted his head examining the data. "An inexperienced one at that?"

"The strength with which the arrows were fired – "

"Is inconsistent with that of an archer with Queen or Harper's muscle mass, but not with that of someone a lot less dense." Clint said.

"I guess Merlyn's officially exonerated." Oliver grumbled.

"Mr. Stark."

"Go ahead JARVIS." Tony shared a smug look with Clint at the alarmed reactions of team Arrow to the AI"

"Dr. Banner has run the DNA particles on the arrow and has come upon some alarming results."

"Patch him in." Tony frowned as Bruce's face appeared on one of the screens. "Define alarming results, Bruce."

"I compared the DNA to all of the SCPD arrest records from the last 4 years. The DNA was degraded, but I managed to get a match with what I had available…" he looked nervously at the corner of the screen.

"You okay Doc? You look a little green around the gills." Clint grinned as everyone at him.

"Who's the match Bruce?" Laurel stepped forward. "Please tell me who killed my sister."

He took a deep breath "According to the DNA evidence." Bruce fidgeted, "Oliver."

Everyone looked at Oliver in shock.

"That's impossible." Tony said bluntly. "The archer was significantly shorter and weaker than Queen. Forensics don't lie."

"Neither does DNA." Bruce said. "So unless there's someone smaller running around Starling shooting people who has the same genetic markers…" he caught the growing expressions of horror on team Arrow's faces.

"What?" Tony asked. "Does Queen have a mini clone that we don't know about?"

"No," Natasha said. "He has a sister."

"No." Oliver growled.

"Oliver," Felicity murmured "it's the only logical explanation."

"NO" He shouted. "I can't believe she would do this, the Thea I know."

"Thea lied to you for months about where she was." Roy said slowly.

"How can you say that?" Oliver said. "How can you even think that? This is Merlyn. He probably planted my DNA and –"

"Merlyn is also Thea Queen's father." Natasha said. She sighed at the look of shock on Oliver's face. "Secrets are in my job description Mr. Queen. Which is also how I know that until he returned to Starling a few months ago, Malcolm Merlyn was rumored to be hiding in Corto Maltese." She threw Oliver a pointed look. "I believe you're familiar with the location?"

"Thea wouldn't" he said weakly

Laurel was staring blankly at Bruce's face on the screen.

"Do you need me to come up there?" he asked her.

"No." She said shakily. "I'll come to you." She turned to Oliver. "We need to talk to Thea. We need to make sure she hasn't had contact with Malcolm."

"She told me…" Oliver began, "She's been lying to me."

"Then maybe you shouldn't be the one asking the questions." Clint suggested.

"What about Nyssa's threat?" Roy asked.

Tony snorted. "I would love to see her try to get Felicity here. Security's top notch."

"I can see a least 3 possible breaches in this room." Digg crossed his arms.

"5" Steve countered

"6" Natasha murmured

"7" Bucky growled "if we want to keep Felicity safe we need a more secure base."

"If they want Felicity, they're going to have to go through me" Laurel was standing by the elevator. "I've lost Sara and Tommy. I saw what being a part of the league did to Sara. I'll be damned if I let that happened to anyone else."

Bucky gave her a small smile. "I guess I'm grateful you'll be fighting with me this time, not against me."

She nodded and left the room.

"7?" Tony said, outraged.

"Loki just waltzed right in here and took over. Do you honestly think this place is secure?" Clint asked. "Let me tell you something about the air vents."

Lian Yu

"I thought you were going to let me starve down here." Slade faced the wall as he heard what he assumed was an ARGUS agent with his food.

"I should, but I am in need of your assistance." He turned in surprise to find Nyssa al Ghul standing on the other side of his bars.

"ARGUS, is disbanded. The head of the organization was a member of Hydra." She said.

"And now you have come to kill me for threatening your beloved Sara." He chuckled.

"Sara is dead."

Slade tilted his head. "And why should I care?"

"Because Oliver Queen allowed it to happen and has not sought the person responsible." Nyssa stood before the bars of the cell. "I offer you your freedom and your revenge in exchange for a small favor."

"And what is that?" Slade leaned against the wall of his cell. Nyssa smiled. "I need you to capture Felicity Smoak."

Slade looked at her with a look of pure mad joy. "Believe me," He murmured, "It would be my pleasure."


	22. Chapter 22

"Another day, another rooftop." Clint grumbled, "Remind me why I have to wear this stupid thing?" He fidgeted in Oliver's suit.

"Because Queen is compromised and can't conduct an unbiased investigation of his sister." Natasha explained. She was running comms in the Arrow Cave. "And we can't have anyone knowing that team Arrow's working with the Avengers."

"Don't you think people are going to get suspicious when they notice an improvement in the Arrow's skills?" Clint muttered. "How does Queen even see with this hood? Has he even heard of peripheral vision?"

"Target just entered the building." Sam said. He and Darcy were sitting at a table outside the café across from Thea's building, conducting surveillance.

"Copy that," Natasha said, looking at the footage from the building. "I'll tell you when she enters her apartment." She leaned back in Felicity's chair. "You okay Queen?" Oliver was standing behind her, he nodded stiffly.

Back on the roof, Clint waited until Natasha told him Thea had entered her apartment. Then he took a grapple line and jumped down, breaking through her windows.

"Thea Queen, you have failed this city."

"That's not how I say it." Oliver muttered. Natasha smirked.

"What do you want?" Thea had fallen to the ground when the window broke, but Clint knew an attack pose when he saw one. She wasn't cowering in fear; she was trying to trick him into a false sense of security so he'd have his guard down when she struck. "Amateur" he muttered to himself. "Where's Malcolm Merlyn?" He asked. Instead of answering, Thea grabbed some of the glass from the floor and threw it at his eyes. Clint crouched, and threw himself at her, tackling her to the ground. He gripped her wrist and trapped her face down on the ground.

"Where's Malcolm Merlyn?" He asked again

"Stay away from me and my father." Thea said, struggling.

Clint sighed in exasperation. "I'm done asking nicely."

"You'll never find him." Thea shouted.

"Fall back." Natasha said. "Make her think she beat you."

Clint loosened his grip on Thea's wrist slightly. She slipped out of his grasp and kicked him in between the legs. Clint fell to the side; Thea used his distraction to escape out the broken window.

"That was humiliating." Clint grumbled as he entered the Arrow Cave. "The kid's had, what, 4 months of training?" he huffed "At least this makes the Arrow look bad, not me." He began taking off the suit. "Also we need to have a talk about your bow Queen, it's bulky."

"What do you mean training?" Oliver growled.

"Thea's probably going to contact Merlyn to tell him about the Arrow's visit." Natasha said. "You," She turned to Oliver, "need to be ready for when he confronts you."

Oliver nodded, glaring at Clint who was sitting shirtless on the med table, swinging his legs and eating a granola bar.

"What?"

"Don't get crumbs on my suit." Oliver said as he went up to the club.

"Nat" Clint began.

"No." She turned back to the screens and began pulling up the club's security cameras.

"But these pants are tight and leathery. They're chaffing." Clint whined

"You got in yourself in, you can get yourself out."

Darcy and Sam entered the foundry.

"Darcy!" Clint beamed at her. "Just the girl I wanted to see. How would like to help me out of these pants?'

"I don't know Clint?" Darcy smirked as she looked at him. "I think it's a good look for you."

"Fine, don't help me." he grumbled. "Why did we even bring you?"

"Because Darcy and I are inconspicuous in a crowd." Sam grinned. "You may be a badass, but you and Nat both radiate secret spy energy."

"We know how to act like actual humans." Darcy said

"We've got company." Natasha said. The other three rushed over to look at the screen. Malcolm Merlyn had just entered the club and was berating Oliver.

"What's he saying?" Sam asked.

"They're talking about Queen's sister and the league." Clint said. Sam raised an eyebrow. "I had to learn to read lips so I can still understand people if my implants malfunction." He tapped one of his ears."

Oliver was looking at something on his phone; he looked up at Merlyn with a murderous expression.

"Shouldn't you guys go grab him and use your spy skills to interrogate him?" Darcy asked.

As if he'd heard her words, Oliver looked directly at one of the security cameras and gave a slight shake of his head. He came back down the stairs, holding his phone in his hand.

"We could have taken him." Sam said.

"He had a contingency plan." Oliver said, haunted. He held out his phone which was replaying the video of Thea shooting Sara. "He used a plant which makes people lose their ability to make their own decisions. The victim doesn't remember what they did afterwards. If he didn't leave the club, he had 50 burner phones with copies of the video queued to send to the league of assasins. There was no way to find and stop all of them. The league would go after Thea."

"What's his angle?" Sam asked

"He's blackmailing me because he wants me to challenge Ra's to a trial by combat. If I beat Ra's, the sentence placed on Merlyn's head disappears." Oliver said.

"He's really lost it if he thinks that's going to work." Clint said. "No offense Queen, but you can't seriously believe that you can go up against the demon's head and live."

"What choice do I have?" Oliver shouted.. "It's either me or Ra's kills my sister."

"You have us." Natasha said. "You have to full backing of the Avengers, I've infiltrated the league…Sara was my contact. I offered to get her out, but… I couldn't help Sara, but I can help you and your sister."

Oliver nodded. "What's your plan?"

"First we need Thea to realize who her father truly is."

"I've tried. She won't listen to me." Oliver said.

Natasha turned to Clint.

"Want a rematch?"

He smirked. "Fine, but this time, I wear my own pants."

Avengers' Tower

"So I just got off the phone with Tasha." Steve said as he entered the common room where most of the other Avengers were gathered, "And she said she's bringing Thea Queen. She wants Team Arrow to go back to Starling. There needs to be some semblance of normalcy so the league doesn't get suspicious." He then explained how Malcolm had manipulated Oliver. Laurel paled and Bruce gripped her hand.

"I'll kill him." She growled

"It's definitely on the to-do list." Tony said, "Which is why we're bringing his daughter here. He'll most definitely follow her and we'll have him trapped."

"Oliver can't fight Ra's, he'll get himself killed." Felicity looked horrified.

"It's that or he stays quiet and Nyssa takes you." Steve said.

"That's not happening." Bucky said forcefully.

"Malcolm wants Oliver to fight Ra's, even if Nyssa takes Felicity, he'll use that video to pressure Oliver into action." Digg pointed out. "He's trapped Felicity. He can't lose you or Thea. It would destroy him."

"Which is why The Avengers are going to help take down the League," Tony said. "I'm going to go call Rhodey, we need War Machine."

"Won't the League get suspicious that Felicity's not showing up to work and disappeared from Starling?" Bruce asked.

"Well Ray Palmer just introduced his new VP, so they know that she doesn't work for Palmer tech anymore." Tony grinned.

"Way to be compassionate Tony." Dr. Foster rolled her eyes.

"I'm celebrating. I don't like Palmer. He's pushy."

Everyone looked at each other.

"Do we tell him or do we ignore it?" Bruce asked.

Pepper sighed. "I say let it go. He doesn't take criticism very well and he has a long memory."

"Let me just remind everyone who keeps the lights on around here." Tony retorted. "Don't sass the hand that feeds you. As for not being in Starling, it's only rational to hide when the League of Assassins is after you."

Bucky felt Felicity shiver next to him. He looked at her, but her face was impassive. He put a reassuring arm around her shoulders.

"Lady Smoak could always go to Asgard." Thor suggested. "There would be no safer place and I am sure Lady Sif and the Warriors Three would be happy to keep her safe." he caught the look on Bucky's face, "And Sergeant Barnes is welcome to join her."

"That's…" Tony paused. "Actually a very good idea, what do you guys think?"

"I need a moment." Felicity got up and went to her room. Bucky was about to follow her, when Laurel stopped him.

"Felicity's stubborn, she'll want to stay and help. She hates that Nyssa's using her to hurt Oliver. You need to convince her to go, with her safely out of the way, Nyssa won't have any leverage."

Bucky frowned. "It's her decision to make. Not mine."


	23. Chapter 23

The elevator doors had just closed when the first explosion hit.

"JARVIS." Bucky asked. "What's happening?"

"The conference room has been attacked by members of the League of Assassins.

"Take me to Felicity's floor." Bucky demanded. "It's a misdirect; they wanted her separated from the Avengers."

After what seemed like years, but was actually a few seconds, the elevator stopped on Felicity's floor…just as a second explosion rocked the tower.

"FELICITY!" Bucky shouted as he rushed frantically through the apartment. A giant hole had been blasted through her bedroom, leaving it exposed to the outside. A man with 2 swords on his back and an eye-patch was carrying an unconscious Felicity towards a zipline which spanned from the tower to the Chrysler building.

"You're making a big mistake." Bucky growled as he launched himself at the man, but was caught short when he held one of his swords to Felicity's neck.

"Careful, my employers want her alive, but they weren't specific on the number of pieces I should deliver." He gave a mad grin. "She's lovely isn't she? The kid thinks so too. It would be a shame if I had to destroy such beauty."

"You have no idea who you're dealing with." Bucky growled.

"Well luckily for me, I brought back up." The man grinned as a group of assassins entered the room and attacked Bucky. "Tell the kid, his friend Slade says hello." Slade turned and jumped, zipping down. When he got halfway across, he let go and dropped into a waiting helicopter. Bucky managed to fight off the league members and start zipping, when the wings of the chopper cut the line. He swung backwards towards the tower, bracing for the impact. He crashed through the windows of one of the tech labs on the 39 floor; scaring some interns. He brushed himself off and rushed towards the windows only to see the helicopter disappear.

"STARK" he roared as he made his way towards the elevator. "Get Thor to fly out and find that helicopter. They've got Felicity."

"No can do." Tony's face appeared on one of the screens. "Thor's been hit by a bunch of poisoned darts. If he were human he'd be dead by now. As it is, he's unconscious. That helicopter must have been one of SHIELD's because they're the only ones I know with that kind of cloaking device, and the only person who could track it decided to have a temper tantrum."

"HULK SORRY."

"It's okay, you saved Pepper and Jane from those darts, but they got Felicity."

"WHAT?" Laurel's voice had transformed into a roar.

"Aaaand there goes the other one." Tony muttered, "Get up here Winter. We'll plan our next move when Queen and the others get back.

2 hours later Oliver, Clint, Natasha, Sam and Darcy walked in with Thea.

"I get the feeling we missed something." Clint said as he took in the damage to the penthouse, the two Hulks, and Thor, who was still unconscious on the ground.

"The league took Felicity." Tony said, "Which is why we need her." He pointed at Thea, "to start talking."

"Where's Merlyn, Thea?" Oliver asked quietly.

"I don't know." Thea crossed her arms and gave Oliver a stubborn look.

"Stop LYING to me." he shouted.

"Oh, because you've been SO honest with me." Thea shouted back.

"That was different, I was trying to protect you."

"I'm your sister. I had a right to know. You told Roy, Laurel, your assistant and your driver, but not me."

Laurel/Hulk took a step towards Thea, but Hulk held her back.

"Malcolm's the only one who's been telling me the truth and I'd die before I betray that trust."

"That could be arranged." Bucky growled.

"Thea," Oliver saw the way both Bucky and Laurel/Hulk were glaring at Thea and realized he'd have to get her to see reason quickly or there would be trouble. "A group of very dangerous people took Felicity, and they're going to hurt her if we don't give them Malcolm."

"Then take them down." Thea shouted. "Stand your ground. You've got enough man power. Why should I have to sacrifice my father."

"Your father died 7 years ago." Oliver growled. "He had to kill himself because of a boating accident that Malcolm Merlyn caused. The man who loved you and raised you was killed by the one you're desperately trying to protect."

"You're just afraid. Merlyn taught me to be strong. I'm not just going to back down because you guys are running from a fight."

"The League of Assassins aren't exactly your garden variety murderous psychopaths." Tony said.

"You're the Avengers." Thea retorted. "Are you seriously telling me you can't handle a few freaks with knives?"

"We can," Tony said, "But the risk is too high. They have Felicity and that gives them leverage. If we attack directly, they'll most likely kill her. That's a risk none of us are willing to take."

"ENOUGH!" Bucky shouted, "While you coddle her, Felicity is being taken further and further away." he took a menacing step towards Thea. "Tell us where this Merlyn is."

"You think you scare me?" Thea snorted.

"I should. You think you know how to fight just because your daddy taught you how to wave a sword? You think you're strong? I've gone toe to toe with some of the most deadly people of the last century and won. I'm the thing in shadows that makes your spine tingle. I'm your worst nightmare embodied."

Steve pulled Bucky back.

"Let me go punk, I'm going to give her lesson in fear."

"You're going to sit." Steve pushed him onto the couch. "And breathe." He shook his head, "Never thought I'd see the day I'd have to pull you back from a fight." He turned to Thea.

"You want honesty Miss Queen? Malcolm Merlyn is a murderer. He killed 507 people including his own son when he destroyed the glades. He's a member of the league of Assassins, a life that , unlike Sara Lance, he chose. But his actions were so repulsive, that even they turned on him. He's a coward. He prefers to hide and use others to fight his battles instead of doing it himself. He also doesn't care about you. You're just another pawn to him. Disposable, just like his son."

"You're LYING." Thea yelled at Steve.

"That's Captain America, kid." Tony said, "he doesn't lie."

"You want proof?" Clint held up Oliver's phone, that he had pick pocketed a few minutes earlier. In a few minutes all the screens were playing the video of Thea shooting Sara. Laurel roared in anger.

"Merlyn used mind control to get you to kill Sara." Natasha said, there was pain in her voice. "His plan is to use this video to force Oliver to fight R'as al Ghul in a trial by combat. If R'as dies, then Malcolm's sentence dies with him." She paused. "Sara was my friend and he had her killed to achieve his own twisted goals."

"I…" Thea looked horrified at the screen.

"Verily, Lady Thea." Thor was sitting up, rubbing his head. "What kind of father turns his own child into a murderer to save himself?"

"I thought he loved me" Thea said quietly.

"He doesn't love anyone Thea." Oliver said, hugging her as she cried into his shoulder. "He's not capable of it. But no matter what happens, I love you."

Thea pulled back with a determined look on her face. "What do you need me to do?" she asked.

"Well." Bucky said, an angry blaze in his eyes as he looked at the wreckage of the penthouse. "I have a few ideas."


	24. Chapter 24

"Are you sure this will work?" Roy asked eyeing the ropes Jane was tying Thea with distastefully. He was sitting on the ground next to a large pool of fake blood. Pepper wasstanding over him with makeup, trying to create a passable entry bullet entry wound.

"Of course kid, we just have to sell it." Tony was bouncing around barking instructions, grinning from ear to ear. "We need better lighting on the chair."

"This is a hostage message, not an episode of MTV cribs." Darcy grumbled as she drew a fake cut on Thea's face.

"Which is why we need to make this look as warehousey as possible." Tony said. Hulk snorted. "Quiet on the set." Tony shouted. "Or else I will have all large green distractions removed."

"Should I get you a megaphone?" Pepper smirked.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Just keep working on the makeup; we need those injuries to look real."

"We should tie Oliver up too." Digg suggested. Everyone turned to look at him in confusion.

"As truly delicious as that suggestion is." Darcy threw Oliver a flirty look. "Why is it necessary?"

"If Thea's missing, Merlyn's first move is going to be to contact Oliver. We need to make him feel as if the only option he has is to respond himself." Digg said exasperated.

Steve nodded. "That's smart. Clint, Sam, Nat are you in position?"

"Yup." Clint responded, "We commandeered a quinjet from Coulson. He owed us for stupid stunt he pulled."

"It wasn't a stunt, he was actually dead." Natasha's eye roll could be heard over the comm.

"Whatever, we're cloaked over Starling ready to strike when you get a location, also your buddy Rhodey showed up and is ready to party."

Steve turned to Oliver. "Okay, Mr. Queen we're going to need to tie you to a chair."

"One second." Bucky had arrived. He was wearing his Winter Soldier uniform and was holding a machine gun in one hand and his mask and goggles in the other. He tossed the mask to Steve and punched Oliver in the face, knocking him out.

"What the hell was that for?" Thea shouted.

"Stark said he wanted it to be believable." Bucky shrugged. "And an unconscious Oliver Queen is less likely to escape. Besides" his eyes darkened dangerously, "the man who took Felicity seemed to have a personal grudge against Oliver. I just want to make sure I get the chance to punch him now in case he gets himself killed later."

"Now that we've all vented our feelings." Tony tossed Bucky a camera and a Thea's phone. "ACTION"

Starling City

Malcolm Merlyn was sitting in his house when he got the call. He'd kept this location from Thea because he didn't want to chance Oliver finding it. His phone rang.

"Thea?" he answered. "How are you?"

"This isn't Thea." A harsh male voice on the other side of the line answered.

"Who is this?"

"I've gone by many names. You can call me the Winter Soldier."

Malcolm stiffened. "The Winter Soldier. What does Hydra want? We've been allies before."

"Times change. I've been forced underground." The voice paused "I have your daughter Mr. Merlyn," he growled. "And if you don't do as I say I won't hesitate to send her back to you in pieces." Merlyn heard the sound of someone being hit and a small intake of breath."

"You're making a big mistake. She may not look like much, but she's strong and her brother isn't someone you want to mess with."

"You mean the Arrow?" the man on the phone laughed cruelly. "Turn on your TV Mr. Merlyn."

Malcolm turned it on. At first there was nothing but static, but then an image began playing. A man, wearing nothing but black was standing holding the camera up to his masked face. Behind him was Thea, bound and gagged. There was a cut on her face. Next to her, slumped in a chair was an unconscious Oliver.

"So you see. There will be no rescue. I killed the red sidekick as a precaution." Malcolm saw the motionless form on the ground in the pool of blood.

"What do you want?"

"The league of assassins has something I want. I need leverage to negotiate." The Winter Soldier smiled.

"The League doesn't negociate."

"Maybe not with you, but something tells me they'll be more accommodating to the fist of Hydra. Especially considering how many of their members I've eliminated over the years."

Malcolm shook. R'as held the soldier in high regard. It had always been his dearest wish to take the asset away from Hydra and have him join as a member of the League. But they could never capture him. He operated like a ghost.

"What do you want?"

"She's a pretty thing." The Soldier walked over to Thea, he pulled out a knife and began running it through her hair. "She's strong too. I wonder how much she would be willing to endure?"

"Don't – " Merlyn growled. "I can't turn myself over to R'as."

"Well then." The Soldier said. "It appears I no longer have any use for your daughter."

The image stopped. Merlyn was left standing in front of a screen full of static. Numb, shocked he didn't hear when Clint snuck up behind him and shot him with a tranquilizer arrow.

"Well, that was easy." Clint muttered. "We got him Stark. We're bringing him in."


	25. Chapter 25

When Felicity came to she was lying on a cool stone floor. Her glasses were cracked. Slowly sitting up, she looked around. The room she was in was dark and lit only by torches. It was impossible to tell whether it was night or day. As she looked around she saw movement in the shadows…or maybe those were the shadows moving.

"Tony? Please tell me this is one of your sick impromptu training exercises." She said looking around. "Because you are totally paying to replace my glasses."

"This is no training exercise. Felicity Smoak, MIT class of 2009." One of the shadows stepped forward, Felicity squinted at her.

"Nyssa?" The shadow nodded.

"Your friend was unable to give us Sara's killer. As a result we have taken you. Mr. Queen needs to understand that the League of Assassins is not to be crossed." Nyssa melted back into the shadows. "You will be trained and eventually become one of us."

"That's not a very good idea. I have this thing about pointy objects and not sticking them into other people." Felicity couldn't stop her babbling. "Also I'm half blind. Do you really think it's a good idea to hand weapons to someone who's nearsighted? I won't be able to actually do anything until my opponent comes within 3 feet, at which point they'll probably have already killed me."

There was a low chuckle from the corner opposite the direction Nyssa had disappeared.

"She has fire. There are few people who have the gall to speak to the heir to the demon thusly." The owner stepped forward. "Even fewer have lived to tell the tale." The man examined Felicity.

"Who are you?" Felicity asked.

"This is the demon's head." A voice called from the shadows. "Bow before him."

"I'm already on my knees in front of him, how much more do you want?" Felicity retorted. "Wait…that's not what I meant." She shuddered as R'as approached and held her chin up to examine her.

"Strange. Most people would be begging for their lives by now. " R'as looked at her curiously. "Why is it you do not? I see that you are afraid, little one."

"Begging won't get me anywhere." Felicity forced herself to meet R'as's eyes. "Besides I live with people who are twice as dangerous as you. I even play monopoly with them."

"You believe Queen and his misguided followers are more dangerous than I?" R'as drew his head back in anger. "I see you are insolent as well as foolish."

"I recently had a change of address." Felicity let out a shaky breath. R'as didn't know about the Avengers.

"Mr. Wilson." R'as called, a few seconds later Slade was dragged forward and thrown next to Felicity on the ground. "Where did you find Ms. Smoak?"

"New York. She was living in Stark Tower."

There was a muffled stir of murmuring around her. The atmosphere of the room shifted into uneasiness.

"You didn't feel it was important to mention that you took her from the most dangerous group of people on the planet?" R'as hissed.

"You wanted her, I brought her."

"And by bringing her you incurred the wrath of the Avengers." R'as growled. "Is that why none of the assassins I sent with you returned?"

Slade glared at R'as. "Your daughter promised me my revenge. Queen will come for the blonde. He always does, and then - "

"Silence." R'as said it softly, but it rolled around the room like a thunderclap. He stepped forward to inspect Felicity again…and caught sight of something on her left shoulder. He lifted her sleeve. "What is this?"

Felicity looked away. She knew what it was R'as had seen. It was a star; she'd drawn it herself that morning.

** "****_Felicity what are you doing?" Bucky stood at the entryway to her apartment looking adorably confused_**

**_She turned to show him her shoulder . "This way we'll be matching!" her smile faltered when he looked at her shellshocked. _**

**_"Felicity, you can't want to have that on you." He went over to the sink intent on getting a dishcloth to wipe it away. _**

**_"It's sharpie. It won't fade for a few days." Felicity walked over and hugged him from behind. "Why do you hate this?" She circled her fingers around his metal wrist. _**

**_"Why do you like it?"_**

**_ "Because it's a part of you." Felicity turned him so he was facing her. "And every part of you is beautiful."_**

_** He leaned down and kissed her. Pressing his face against her forehead he sighed. "How could I ever deserve someone like you, doll?" He ran his fingers over her shoulder, tracing the drawn star.**_

Bucky had looked so happy. That haunted look he often had when he thought no one was paying attention was gone. Felicity felt tears enter her eyes.

"The Winter Soldier." R'as hissed. He turned to look at Slade. "Did you take this woman away from the Winter Soldier?"

Slade was silent, but he gave a slight nod. R'as turned to look at Felicity.

"First the Queen boy, then the Winter Soldier. Even Tal el Asfer spoke of you in adoring tones." He gripped her chin. "Is this the face that launched a thousand ships?" he murmured. Then he released her. "Begin fortifying the citadel. The Winter Soldier knows where to find us and we need to be prepared. Oh and Mr. Wilson." He turned, "thank you for your invaluable assistance." There was a flash of metal and Slade clutched at his throat. Felicity felt blood splatter over her face. She looked at Slade; a silent scream building in her lungs. He fell to the ground. "Sha…do" he coughed. Then his eyes closed and he was still.

"Someone will have to clean that up before our guests arrive." R'as said as he dropped his dagger and walked out.


	26. Chapter 26

"I'm going to make this very simple Merlyn." Bucky growled. "You follow my instructions and you might make it out of this alive." He put his dagger against Merlyn's throat. "and in one piece."

"Bucky." Steve warned.

"I'm threatening," Bucky looked at Steve in irritation.

"Where's Thea?" Merlyn asked.

"Here." Thea entered the holding room. She stood straight with her arms behind her back. She glared at him.

"You're not dead."

"Don't look so disappointed." Thea was shaking. "If it were up to you, I'd be in a ditch right now."

"But he didn't kill you."

"YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT." Thea shouted. "You were willing to trade my life for yours. Just like you had me kill Sara, a friend, just to get my brother, my only family to take my place and accept the league's punishment."

"I'm your family." Merlyn said. "I'm your father."

"My dad is dead." Thea said. "He died 7 years ago. You're nothing to me." then she walked out.

Merlyn looked at Bucky. "Why are you doing this? What do you even want from Ra's?"

Bucky gripped him by the hair and forced his head back. "Ra's took someone I care deeply about. I intend to get her back."

"A girl." Malcolm laughed. "I was taken down because the Winter Soldier got lovestruck. I am deeply shamed."

"She's not just a girl." Bucky growled.

Malcolm looked at Steve. "You can't tell me that Captain America is okay with this."

"I'm a soldier Mr. Merlyn. As far as I'm concerned the League's actions are a declaration of war. And in war there are casualties." Steve stepped forward. "And while I don't agree with Bucky killing you here and now, don't expect me to weep if you get killed in the crossfire."

"What crossfire?" Malcolm asked.

"When we go to Nanda Panda land and take down the League." Tony had arrived. "And don't even think about trying to threaten us with that video, I wiped every trace of it off every device you own."

"You can't seriously expect to just march into Nanda Parbat and take on the demon's head." Merlyn said.

"Funny. You had no problem sending me to my death challenging Ra's." Oliver growled as he entered. He was holding an ice pack over his jaw. "Was it really necessary to hit me?"

"I think it suits you." Bucky muttered.

"We're the Avengers and co." Tony said. "Between us we've taken down alien invasions, an army of super soldiers, Nazis, SHIELD, Hydra (Twice), crazy brothers, terrible character actors, oh and you. I do seem to believe that Robin Hood over here brought you down. How did you survive that?"

"I have my ways." Merlyn spat. "What's in it for you Queen? Now that you've insured Thea's freedom, why are you still here?" he looked at Oliver curiously. "Who is it that Ra's took, exactly?" he tilted his head. "Is it perhaps, Ms Smoak?" He grinned at the looks of anger Bucky and Oliver shot him.

"Why are we even wasting our time on this guy?" Tony groaned. "Tie him up and throw him in the Avenge jet. If he accidentally dies during the big showdown, then I say good riddance. Avengers Assemble." He turned to Oliver. "You and the boys can join us if you like."

Nanda Parbat

Felicity had been tied to the foot of Ra's throne in the middle of the main hall. Of course he had a throne. Ego maniacal psycho. Felicity pushed against the chair. "I hate to impose on your lovely hospitality, but what if I have to go to the bathroom?"

"Silence." Ra's growled. "I need you alive, but you can live without your tongue." There was a crashing noise and the door was kicked down. In the room strode Bucky in full Winter Soldier costume. He threw a bound and gagged Malcolm Merlyn on the ground in front of him.

"Soldier." Ra's murmured "The years have barely touched you."

"You neither." Bucky growled. He hefted the machine gun he was holding. "You have something which belongs to me."

"Yes, I saw her mark." Ra's took the dagger he was holding and sliced off Felicity's sleeve, exposing the star. "It's strange. The Winter Soldier I know was never sentimental." He looked at him. "Could the years have turned you soft?"

"I'm still the same." Bucky said stiffly. He didn't once look at Felicity, he was concentrating on Ra's.

"The Soldier I knew would never have brought a live prisoner." Ra's indicated Malcolm. "And he would certainly never have traveled halfway across the globe for a woman. In fact it was my impression that you had no interest in matters of the flesh, let alone love."

Felicity shuddered.

"Things have changed since Hydra fell. I have more time to pursue my own interests." Bucky stood straight and looked at Ra's. "This woman belongs to me. You had no right to take her."

"I was under the impression that we took her because of her relationship with Oliver Queen." Ra's tilted his head. "My daughter was of the firm opinion that Queen would comply if the safety of this woman were threatened. I suppose we miscalculated, as we didn't factor in your…ownership."

Bucky stepped forward to take Felicity.

"Not so fast." Ra's held up one of his hands. "There is still the matter of my deceased league member. Ms. Smoak was taken in retribution for Sara Lance's death."

"And I brought you her killer." Bucky kicked Merlyn.

"Strange, the Queen boy seemed convinced otherwise."

"As you say, Queen is a boy; he does not have the same understanding of the world as we do." Bucky growled.

Ra's leaned back. "I enjoy your new found voice, Soldier. I will let you take the woman. If…" he paused, his eyes glittering. "You stay here and join me."

Felicity shook her head. "Don't do it." she said. "Not for me."

"For you doll," Bucky finally looked at her and winked. "There's nothing I wouldn't do." He threw 2 daggers one landing in the rope holding Felicity to the chair and the other trapping Ra's' hand to it. "Stark," he shouted over his comm. "You're up!"

"Thank you. I was really getting tired of these Hulks on my plane." Felicity heard Tony say. Then Bucky grabbed Ra's. The two began fighting. Felicity began struggling against the ropes. Bucky had managed to aim the dagger exactly so it would cut through them. As soon as she pulled, the ropes came apart.

"James." She said as she tossed him the dagger. Bucky caught it without even looking. Then the hall shook. Ra's and Bucky turned just as both Hulks crashed through the main door. Ra's took Bucky's momentary distraction and pushed him towards Felicity. Then he melted into the shadows. Bucky was about to go after him when a group of League members made a bee line for Felicity.

"SMASH STUPID ASSASSINS" Laurel shouted. Bucky smiled as she joined him protecting Felicity. The rest of the Avengers had arrived. More and more assassins poured into the room.

"Am I the only one who feels like they just poked a nest of spiders?" Tony asked as he blasted a group of assassins who were climbing in through the windows.

"Ra's is getting away." Bucky shouted as he fought with Nyssa.

"I go it." Steve rushed in the direction Ra's had disappeared. Sam, Tony and Rhodey zoomed around the room, picking off league members. The fight lasted a few minutes, but eventually the entire room was silent and only the Avengers were left standing.

"Felicity." Bucky turned and knelt in front of her, caressing her face. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

She shook her head, putting her hands on his. "I thought you were…gone." She murmured.

"I'm still here, doll." He grinned. "I told you; I'd never forget you again." He kissed her.

"Yay." Clint said "fairy tale ending!"

"Careful Hawkass." Tony grinned as he landed. "Judging from Bucksicle's skill with a knife you're not the only one with good aim."

Felicity pulled back smiling. Then smacked Bucky across the face.

"Ouch?!" he rubbed his cheek. "What was that for?"

"I BELONG to you?" she hissed.

"I had to tell Ra's something he'd believe. Besides you are my girl right?" Bucky ducked as Felicity raised an eyebrow.

"I have found that Midgardian women do not appreciate men claiming ownership of them." Thor added. "At least not in public."

"I'm telling Jane you said that." Natasha grinned at Thor's horrified expression.

"Widow." Nyssa said getting slowly to her feet.

"We've contacted Interpol." Natasha said. "It's only a matter of time before they get here." She looked at Nyssa sadly.

"Which is why you need to get out of here now." Felicity said. Everyone looked at her in shock.

"You're joking." Clint said "I may have to give you a few lessons, Smoak, because that wasn't a very good one."

Felicity got to her feet. "I'm doing this because it's what Sara would have wanted." She looked at Nyssa. "She loved you. She wouldn't have wanted her friends to be the cause of her lover's arrest…yup lover's still a really icky word."

"I agree." Oliver nodded. "There's been enough killing. We're giving you this chance because of Sara, but if you step out of line again, her memory won't be enough to save you."

"Especially if you go after Felicity again." Bucky growled, as he got his feet. "I have no sentimental attachment to the Canary. Believe me; you don't want to get on my bad side. Very few stay on it for long." His stiff stance reinforced his thinly veiled threat.

"I will be seeing you again, little one." Nyssa smiled at Felicity. "Perhaps the next time our paths cross we will be on the same side once more." then she left.

"What about Merlyn?" Oliver pointed to him. He was still bound on the ground.

"Well what do you suggest, since apparently you're giving the orders around here." Tony grumbled.

"He stays here." Steve had just reappeared. "We'll let the authorities deal with him." he looked at Bucky. "Ra's disappeared. This place is like a labyrinth."

"Well he's going to be considerably weakened." Natasha looked around. "I can give Interpol the location of the other main league hideouts. He'll definitely have a hard time rebuilding."

"He's going to want revenge." Sam pointed out.

"Then we'll be ready for him." Bucky put his arm around Felicity. "Does your dashing hero get a reward?"

"Just as long as he realizes he's MY dashing hero." Felicity grumbled, playfully bumping him with her hip. They began making their way to the Avenge Jet.

"All non official Avengers should probably go with them." Steve said. "It might not be the best idea to have you around when Interpol shows up. Just lay low in the Avenge jet."

Bruce and Laurel shrunk back to normal. "We'll join you." Bruce said. They both looked exhausted. When Laurel got to Oliver, she gave him a reassuring squeeze. "You'll find someone else." She whispered.

"What?" he asked as he watched Bucky and Felicity walk away.

"There's someone out there for everyone." She smiled. "Even ex hydra assassins and giant green rage monsters. You'll find yours."

"I like this new Zen Laurel." Roy said. "Going green really did wonders for you." He gulped as Laurel glared at him. "I meant…I …" he let out a sigh of relief when Laurel laughed. "Sorry, I've been hanging around Hawkeye too much."

"How was the battle?" Darcy was bouncing excitedly in the jet.

"When did you get here?" Oliver frowned as he watched her hug Felicity.

"I may or may not have stowed away. I brought med supplies in case anyone needed them." She held up a first aid kit.

"Oliver you're not looking too good." Digg said. "Right Roy?"

"Yeah." Roy said slowly, "I think you might need a medical exam."

"What are you guys talking about?" Oliver looked at them in confusion.

"Listen to them Queen." Bucky said. "Unless you want me to give you a real reason to need a doctor."

"I still owe you for this." Oliver pointed to the large bruise on his jaw.

"That was barely a tap." Bucky retorted.

"Nice to see the two of you getting along so well." Felicity remarked dryly. "We're going to work on that once the base is set up in Starling."

"We're all going to be one big happy family." Clint commented as he boarded the plane. "Queen, your castle has air vents right?"


	27. Chapter 27

"You have GOT to be kidding me."

Bucky and Felicity broke apart to see Clint standing in the doorway, holding a bowl of popcorn.

"This is the damn TV room. It's a communal space. Take this…" he waved an irritated hand in their direction "somewhere else."

"We were using it." Bucky insisted stubbornly as Felicity buried her face in one of the couch pillows.

"Just like you were 'using' the training room and the pool and the technology lab." Clint began counting off on his fingers. "Natasha's off on a covert mission. I just came to the mansion for some peace and quiet; not to be an accidental peeping tom."

"You spent the first day complaining about the lack of air vents for you to nest in." Bucky rolled his eyes.

"That was a purely tactical observation." Clint retorted. "The two of you have a room. You even have her whole damn apartment. Use it."

"I'm catching up on pop culture." Bucky pointed at the TV.

"By making out with your girlfriend while the DVD menu for Lord of the Rings plays in the background?" Clint shook his head.

"Clint," Felicity squeaked from behind her pillow. "If you don't leave in the next 5 seconds I'm going to put you on crowd control for the rest of the year, while Oliver takes point."

"That's cruel." Clint grumbled. "I'm going to the living room. You…carry on." He shuddered and left. Walking to the main living room he flipped on the lights…only to have a very angry Oliver and Darcy look up from the couch and glare at him.

"This isn't happening, I'm cursed." He said. "Out, Out, I'm trying to watch the game." He began pelting them with popcorn, as they fixed their clothes and left. "Finally." He muttered as he turned on the TV… "DAMN YOU SMOAK." He shouted as he found that every single channel was stuck on the Hunger Games.

"What's the Hunger Games?" Bucky looked over Felicity's shoulder as she interfaced with JARVIS on her tablet.

"Something that will drive Hawkeye crazy." Felicity snuggled against him. "And another pop culture lesson that we can add to the list."

"Mmm sounds good, doll." Bucky nuzzled her hair.

"Should we really cut back on the um…" Felicity blushed. "At least in the mansion?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Bucky pushed her back down on the couch.

"I'm just saying that we've…been caught a lot lately." Felicity shivered as Bucky traced his metal finger down her side. "James I'm trying to have a serious conversation."

"You can talk, I'll listen." Bucky grinned. "I like it when you talk."

"What I'm saying is that we spend most of our nights here." She got off the couch. Bucky pouted.

"I changed my mind; I don't like this serious conversation." He mumbled. Felicity grinned and pulled something out of her purse. She sat on the opposite side of the couch. Bucky tried to make a grab for her, but she evaded him.

"When I taught you how to evade captured I didn't intend for you to use it on me." Bucky growled.

"Hear me out and then you can capture me all you want." Felicity grinned and held up the object in her hand.

"A key?' Bucky said confused.

"Specifically the key to my apartment." Felicity said. "Well, I want it to be our apartment."

"What are you saying?" Bucky looked at her in shock.

"Move in with me Sgt. Barnes." Felicity grinned.

Bucky sat there with his mouth open. Felicity twitched nervously. "I mean, no pressure. If you don't want to, I won't force you. I – "

Bucky kissed her.

"It's been a long time since I've had a home." He said when he pulled back. "But having one with you is more than I could ever dare hope for."

"Guess this means you're stuck with me." Felicity grinned.

"Well" Bucky put on a mock serious face. "The snoring might be an issue."

"I do NOT – "

Bucky grinned and tackled Felicity.

"Let's get back to the movie shall we?" he winked. "I have a lot of catching up to do."


End file.
